U.S.A. $3.00
CANADA $3.50
Type them in ♦ ♦ * *
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Arena Psychotica
Math Wizard
ANTIC nx
AKTIFIClAi
INTEUMENCE
(an experiment)
NEW PRODUCTS
Movie Maker
Gateway to Apshai
The Arcade Machine^
and more * * * *
Official Ho
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niap-ioooc
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Auto Answer/ Auto Dial
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No Atari 850™! nterface
IS/lodule Needed
Includes AC Adapter/
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Free CompuServe DemoPak™
1 year warranty
Connects to Joystick Port
Works on ALL Atari Computers
SOPHISTICATED
SMARTTERMINAL
SOFTWARE ON CARTRIDGE
FEATURES:
Supports XMODEM Protocol
ASCII/ATASCII Translation
Allows Transfer of Files
Larger tfian Memory
Upload /Download of Text
and Programs
100% Maciiine Language
1^
Multiple Buffer^
Off-Line Editing
Variable Baud Rate
Parity Options
Full/Half Duplex
Only
$99.95
Replaces Atari 850™ Interface Module
Compatible with all software
3 foot cable with Centronics plug
(compatible with Epson, NEC, Prowriter, etc.)
2 year warranty
Connects to serial bus on computer
Daisy chains with other Atari peripherals
Works on ALL Atari Computers
Atari 850, THE SOURCE, and CompuServe DemoPak are trademarks
ot Atari. Inc. Readers Digest and CompuServe,
k Microbits is not afliiiated witti Atari. Readers Digest or CompuServe.
CR«
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5\N
Vbcir Atari 600XL
Just plug it onto your Atari 600XL Computer Z' • "
Now your Atari 600XL can run powerful disk software* ■'.■
Allows larger work space for software such as Visicalc, Atari Writer, etc.
Run any of tlie software that's used on the Atari 800XL '
Run powerful peripherals
i-'
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PRODUCTS
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Only
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MicroRam64K Memory Board gives your °
Atari 600XL all flic Power you've ever wanted!
Copyright 1984 Microbits Peripheral Products. Inc.
Atari is a registered lrademari< of Atari. Inc.
Pholo Courtesy: NASA
J.
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ro
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'3 It I if II Ili-.^i( illii
Ifl "li
Scott Lamb's Interactive
Space Fantasy Adventure
Jupiter Mission 1999 is Aualon Hill's Trademarl< Name
Kfor its Microcomputei Space Adventure Role Playing Game.
«2 liiilll lli%Sil I HIE
i"
.;jt micnoccmputcr gomes'
-4M»
Stiip status Display:
Damage report
Navigation Display;
Used to plot course
Science Lab Display:
Probe report
Science Lab Display:
Jupiter system diagramatlc
® Trademark of
Warner Communications
RRRINGM! RRRiNG!!! RRRINGUI
Too early on a chilly January morning, I was jarred awake by
the noxious blaring of my traitorous doorbell, As I moved to accost
the unknown aggressor, with the full force of semi-conscious
wrath, I pulled on my robe and lost my dignity to the pain of a
stubbed toe. Now fully awake, I opened the door, prepared to
educate the mysterious interloper on the meaning of manners.
My determination to this end was somewhat shattered when I saw
two large men clad in long overcoats and wide-brimmed hats.
Instinctively, I tried to slam the door. My retreat to safety was
denied by the advance of the strangers. Before I could protest
their entry, my vision was drawn to the shining silver badges that
hung from their now unfolded wallets. They were government
agents.
Hesitantly, trying to remember any crimes that I had ever
committed, I invited them into my home. At their request, I
produced my driver's license and other forms of identification.
After examining these credentials, they asked me to pack a bag
for an extended journey, After some protest and argument, I was
made to understand that my options in this matter were less than
limited. My country needs me, they said— with the clear
implication that either I pack and dress or I take an extended
journey in my robe.
This is how my adventure began. From my cold apartment, I
was taken to a towering vehicle for an emergency mission to
Jupiter. My very life on the line and, possibly, the survival of the
planet Earth as well, and only God knows what other kind of perils
await.
JUPITER MISSION 1999 is a highly detailed role-playing space
adventure game that includes challenging arcade segments
and mystifying puzzles. Four separate program disks are enclosed
to test the creative Imagination of the advanced computer
gamer. JUPITER MISSION 1999 is ready to run on your Atari®Home
Computer with 48K memory and one disk drive. $50.00
Available at leading computer software dealers, or call toll-
free for further information: 1-800-638-9292
AH
microcomputer games
®
hJwI a Division of The Avalon Hill Game Company
4517 HARFORD ROAD, BALTIMORE, MD 21214 1-800-638-9292
Porthole View
of Jupiter and a moon
Lander Approach Display:
note descending spaceship
Exploring an
Alien Complex
Exploring an
Alien Space Station
Joystick required
Ou*
page 45
page 53
page 62
The ATARI Resource
APRIL 1984 VOLUME 3, NUMBER 1
FEATURES 1
ANTIC PIX GAMES by David Duberman
45
A survey of favorites
CREATIVE PROGRAMMING WITH
PLAYER/MISSILE GRAPHICS by Philip Seyer
50
A simple way to add color
MATCHBOX TIC-TAC-TOE by Joe Hafner
53
An introduction to artificial intelligence
ATARI CONTROLS YOUR ENVIRONMENT by Jeff McHie
58
Simple computer appliance interface
MEMORY WINDOW by Dave Mentiey
62
A byte-sized look at your Atari memory
LITTLE BROTHER GROWS UP by Dicl< Slavens & Jim Lee
67
Audio/Video output for the 400
WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS by Jungbo Yang
69
A panoply of patterns
ELECTRONIC BIRTHDAY CARD by John Slaby
•f2
Celebrate ANTIC'S second birthday
Idepartments
INSIDE ATARI
BIOMECHANICS AT THE OLYMPICS by David F. Barry
STARTING LINE
14
TALK TO YOUR PERIPHERALS by William W. Hough
EDUCATION
18
MATH WIZARD by Matthew Ratcliff
LIGHT PEN DOODLE by John & Mary Harrison
LOGO/PILOT
22
30
SAFE SPACE AND LARGE LETTERS by Ken Harms
PROFILES
35
JOHN VICTOR — Computer Educator by Chris Rauber
GAME OF THE MONTH
37
RISKY RESCUE by J D. Casten 77
THE TOOL BOX ••New Department**
UPDATE DISKS WITH NOTE AND POINT by Jerry White
• •BONUS GAME^^
82
ARENA PSYCHOTICA by Erik Wolpaw
ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE
85
PAST PAGE SIX by Vern Mastel
BEYOND THE BASICS
90
PRINTERS AND SPOOLERS by David and Sandy Small
91
EDITORIAL _
I/O BOARD .
HELP!
6 PRODUCT REVIEWS .
8 TANGLE ANGLES _
12 SHOPPER'S GUIDE _
PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE .
MICROSCREENS
34 LISTING CONVENTIONS.
. 88 NEW PRODUCTS
93
103
109
111
113
^^^^^F me ATABI Res
me ATABI Resource Publisher
James Capparell
Managing Eclitor
Robert DeWitt
Assislanl Edilor
Christopher Rauber
Technical Editor
David Duberman
Editorial Assistant
CaitUn Morgan
Copy Assistant
Aria Ertz
Technical Assistant
Jacl< Powell
Contributing Editors
Carl Evans Ken Harms
John & Mary Harrison
David & Sandy Small
Jerry White
Art Director
Marni Tapscott
Production Supervisor
Kyle Bogertman
Contributing Itliistrntors
Beatrice Benjamin
Lilianne Milgrom
Karen McDonald
Lance Jackson
Cover Illustration
John Mattos
Circulation Manager
Les Torok
Subscriptions
Julianna Hoffman
Monica Burrell
Shipping
Augustus Jones
Accounting
V.J. Briggs
Acirerlishig/Prociuction Coordinator
Linda Tapscott
Advertising Sales
Steve Randall
General Offices (415) V5~-0H86
Advertising Sales (-ilS) 661-5400
Credit Card Subscriptions
outside California (800) 22^-16/7 ext. 133
inside California (800) ''■72-3545 ext. 133
Subscription Probleins (415) 95^-0886
April 1984
Volume 3, Number 1
ANTIC— The ATARI Resource is published twelve
limes per year by ANTIC Publishing. Editorial
offices are located at 524 Second Street, San
Francisco. CA 94107. ISSN 0745-2527, Second
I Class Postage paid at San Francisco. California and
additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send
address change to ANTIC, 524 Second Street.
San Francisco, CA 94107.
Editorial submissions should include program
listing on disk or casscue, and text file on media
and paper if text was prepared with a word
I processor. Media will be returned if self-addressed
stamped mailer is supplied, ANTIC assumes no
responsibility for unsolicited editorial material,
ANTIC is an independent periodical not affiliated
in any way with Atari, Inc. ATARI is a trademark
of Atari, Inc. AJI references to Atari products are
irademarked and should be so noted.
Copyright© 1984 by ANTIC Publishing.
All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA.
editorial
With this issue we begin our third year of publishing and bringing you ANTIC —
The Atari Resource, We extend our thanks to the entire ANTIC family of readers,
retailers, subscribers, contributors, advertisers and staff. You are all involved
every month in making ANTIC the very best source of information available
to the Atari PC owner.
It seems the term PC has become generic, meaning personal computer. I
believe it's time Atari owners (about a million of us by our count) start recog-
nizing our machine for what it is, the very best personal computer you can
get for less than J8 1,000.
We have achieved many of our goals this year. ANTIC "went monthly" and
you got it monthly. We now sell more than 100,000 magazines per month, which
makes ANTIC the largest selling Atari-only monthly periodical. We have set
and met high standards for quality in material, art, color and production that
leave our less dedicated competitors far behind. We have switched to perfect
binding (square back) to make it easier to store ANTIC on your shelf.
We have developed a true monospaced type font for our listings that includes
the special Atari graphics characters. In conjunction with our TYPO tables, this
provides you with the most accurate, easy-to-read, and attractive listings found
in any computer magazine.
What else did we do? Well, our first book is now reality, The Best of Antic.
For only $12,95 we present 300 pages of articles and programs, including six
never-before-published games. It's a small demonstration of our dedication to
good value, (See advertisement and order form on pages 38 and 39,)
Well, that's last year; this computer business waits for no one. What are we
planning? More of the same high-quality material by well-known and knowl-
edgeable writers in the Atari world, continued dedication to accurate, readable
listings, relevant product information and a genuine interest in things Atari.
Watch for a communications column, the how-to of the modern computer-
telephone marriage. Also expect to see more information on education; as pro-
ducts mature, so will this department. You can expect to see some design changes
in typeface and department names, all originating with the idea that you, our
valued customer and fellow computer enthusiast, want your money's worth.
After all, it is our communal interest that makes ANTIC successful.
Look around at the other personal computers. Aren't you glad you own an
Atari PC? Do you realize that even the Atari 400 is still essentially compatible
with the newest computers in the Atari line? What other machines can make
that claim? We have a community of interest built around the best eight-bit
PC ever built, and ANTIC is proud to be a part of it,
^ Mr James Capparell,
M W i Publisher
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
=^-»
XeppeKn
c.vct the pr'S°
Encounter ,^„et,
Aloneonadswntp
g.leveltankDa
^«°"r'Tfor he deadly
Watch out for tne 5
drones and sneakyso^
Atari disk & ^
cassette j..
.. • o ^.^.ccette Id! A
Atari disk & cassette «
^•'«^^^'A?oat-
^'"^'^'"''ndShamusCasell,
5''°'""'nncerPha^°°*''^
Necromancer, r
Curse, Quasimodo.
that's only the beg J ^f
from the w'BTriJUal
lethal en-
ergy fields
to devastat-
ing earth-
quakes.
Can you
defeat the
Timelords? „p_,
Atari disk & cassette
AN^^-n^^SotTot
^'''^'Tl^s everywhere,
orVISA/M°''*«''^°'
number.
I compu»«"-
\
I Nome-
ondf
■^r:^!^^"°"
^c.de.nc'kof'^'"^''
Computef
i/o board
•m
HELPING LETTER PERFECT
My favorite word processor for the Atari
is Letter Perfect from LJK, but I've been
frustrated by my inability to obtain a print-
out of the file directory on my storage disk.
For some reason, LJK has customized their
DOS and offset the disk directory by two
sectors, compared to Atari DOS. Therefore,
DOS can't find the directory. The secret is
to POKE 4226,107.
Donald Nelson
Hillsborough, NC
Thanks for the tip, Donald. We used your
idea to write a short, easily modifiable
routine that reads an LJK-file disk direc-
tory and sends it to the printer:
10 DIM FILES(20):POKE 4226,107
20 OPEN #1, 6, 0, ' 'D: *. • • ': OPEN #2, 8, 0,
"P: ".TRAP 100
30 FOR 1 = 1 TO 64
40 INPUT #1, FILES:? FILES: ? #2;FILES
50 NEXT I
100 POKE 4226, 105: REM Back to normal
DOS
-ANTIC ED
TRAP GRAPHICS 0 ERRORS
I've written an error-trapping subroutine
for inclusion with any Graphics 0 text pro-
gram that prompts the user for a response.
If the user enters information that would
normally cause the program to crash (e.g. ,
non-numeric data when the program ex-
pects a number), the subroutine traps the
error at the line of the input statement. It
saves that line number, briefly displays an
error prompt, and returns to the line that
contains the input statement. Line 2 is
necessary to create the TRAP.
2 TRAP 31 00ei:REM ERROR H
ANDLING ROUTINE
31 000 ERR0RLNE=256*PEEK(
187)+PEEK( 186)
31010 ? "YOU HAVE MADE AN
ERROR !■•: ? 'CAREFULLY ENT
ER YOUR RESPONSE AGAIN."
31020 FOR ERR0R=1 TO 150
.-NEXT ERROR
31 030 TRAP 31 000:GOTO ER
RORLNE
Robert R. Ambrose
North Bellmore. NY
TWO-COLOR PLAYERS
1 am 12 years old. I recently received an
Atari 800 and the 4 10 program recorder.
I'm very interested in programming, and
have recently learned about Player/Missile
graphics. My cjuestion is, how do you make
a two-color player?
Carlos MuriUo
Garden City, NY
Memory location 623 controls, among
other things, various Player/Missile op-
tions. If you POKE 623, PEEK(623)-h32,
and then overlap two players, a third
color will appear where they overlap. You
can combine players 0 and 1, and players
2 and 3, to make as many as two three-
color players Our forthcoming ANTIC's
Book of Games (working title) ivill include
a Player/Missile Editor thatalloiusyoii to
experiment with this effect. — ANTIC ED
ANCHOR ADAPTOR
Thanks in part to efforts by the ANTIC
staff, the Atari version of the Anchor Mark
XII 1200-baud modem (reviewed in
ANTIC, page 109, February 1984) now
comes equipped with a free adaptor. The
adaptor lets you connect the modem
directly to your 850 interface box; there
is no need for additional cables or con-
nectors. If you 've already purchased a
Mark XII, Just return it to the factory for
free installation of the adaptor — ANTIC ED
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
Thank you for the flattering treatment you
gave my graphics in your January "Micro-
screens" column. It was also nice to see
the screen dump of one of my pictures else-
where in the same issue (Product Reviews,
page 109). I've been reading ANTIC for
over a year, and enjo)'ing it very much, but
it had never occurred to me that I could
be a contributor
By the way, as a result of your column
Gary Koffler of Datamost called to discuss
my artwork. Also, your check made it pos-
sible for me to buy Movie Maker by Reston
Software.
Guy Conrad
Woodside, CA
A CHALLENGE
Interested in winning a SIOOO Atari com-
puter system.^ If you're one of 12 ivinners
in the second annual Computer EdGame
Challenge, sponsored by Verbatim Corp.
and Scholastic Inc. , that will be your prize.
Simply submit a nonviolent educational
game for use on the Atari 400, 600XL,
800, 800XL, or 1200XL computer by April
30, 1984. Contest categories include
mathematics, language arts, sciences,
health/nutrition, and geography/social
studies.
For further information, call (212)
505-3485 or write to: Computer EdGame
Challetige, Scholastic Inc. , 730 Broadway,
New York, NY 10003. —ANTIC ED
IS THERE A 1025?
I've been trying to get information about
the Atari 1025 printer recently — so far
without success. ANTIC's January issue
featured printers, but it didn't include
anything on the 1025! Why not? Is there
a 1025?
Arthur R. Thom
Palm City, FL
Our most recent information from Atari
indicates that the 1025 printer has not
been discontinued, and is, in fact, avail-
able in most parts of the country right
now. However, as is the case with the
600XL and 800XL computers, distribu-
tion has been delayed in some areas.
—ANTIC ED
A VOTE FOR UTILITIES
I want to commend you on "Typer's
Toolbox" (ANTIC, page 75, January 1984).
It was an exceptional utility program. 1 just
completed a program that included thirty
DATA statements without making a single
error! Keep up the excellent work. I hope
to see more such utilities in the future.
Larry Lewandowski
"West Seneca, NY
Ybti will. In particular, keep an eye on our
new department, "The Tool Box," which
ii< ill feature utility programs from the pro-
lific workshop of Jerry White —ANTIC ED
continued on page 10
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
What do voice
synthesizers have
in common with
movies?
They don't make
them like they
used to.
Because now
there is S.A.M. The
Software Automatic IVlouth'."
The first software-only speech
synthesizer for Commodore 64
Atari and Apple computers.
Developed by Mark Barton
of Don't Ask Software, S.A.M.
is designed to give you all
the power of conventional
hardware speech
devices. Without
the hardware.
And without the
high price.
S.A.M. is the
program that
makes other pro-
grams talk. Busi-
ness programs. Educational
programs. Recreational pro-
grams, too.
You can use it in any num-
ber of useful ways.
To write instructions that talk.
Stories that tell themselves.
And creative new games with
characters that converse or
opponents that crack jokes.
And you can do it all with
ease. With phonetic or plain
English Input.
S.A.M. can say anything you
like, any way you like— you
choose the pitch, tone, speed
and Inflection.
If you want, you can even
choose the voice.
Here's talking to you, kid.
(The Apple version includes an
8-blt digital-to-analog converter
and audio amplifier on a card.
It requires 48K and a speaker
The Atari version requires 32K.)
Say it again, S.A.
WHAT, NO MAY ISSUE?
Your next issue of ANTIC will be dated
June 1984. We ivill not publish an issue
this year with a May cover date. However,
ive are not skipping an issue/ We're sim-
ply adjusting our cover date to allow
more time for distribution and to give
ANTIC a longer shelf life in retail outlets
The June issue will be Volume 3,
Number 2. There will be 12 issues in this
volume, and all subscriptions will be
automatically adjusted to ensure that you
receive the proper number of issues.
Distribution of the June issue luill begin
in early May. Subscribers should receive
their copies by the middle of the month.
—ANTIC ED
LIFELINES
Because the word "computer" scares the
living daylights out of nearly everyone
where I live, I depend on my subscriptions
to keep me informed. The only other
sources of information I can depend on are
the various bulletin board systems located
around the country. You should see my
phone bill! Keep up the good work!
David Roling
Hannibal, MO
DESPERATE TO DOWNLOAD
I recently purchased an Atari 835 direct-
connect modem with Telelink II software.
I was very disappointed to find that this
package isn't capable of uploading or
downloading. Can you tell me what ter-
minal software will allow me to upload and
download with my modem?
David McMahan
Princeton, TX
You're right, the 835 can't download or
upload with Telelink 11, and you can 't use
terminal progrclms other than Telelink II
with the 835, because the system doesn't
employ an RS232 interface. However, this
situation is about to change. Atari Prod-
uct Support has announced the avail-
ability of a neiv handler for the 835. If you
incorporate this handler into your own
terminal program, such as JTERM or
AMODEM, it will allow you to uploadand
download with the 835. For further infor-
mation, contact Atari Product Support,
P.O. Box 61657, 1312 Grossman Ave,
Sunnyvale, CA 94088. —ANTIC ED
HELPFUL HINTS
As an owner of an MPP-llOO Printer Inter-
face from Microbits Peripheral Products,
I heartily agree with your review of the
product (ANTIC, page 109, November
1983). It is indeed a practical, economical
product. However, it is not compatible
with all software. Early versions of Zaxxon
will not work with it, but Datasoft will ex-
change such programs for a compatible
version at no charge. Also, Monkey Wrench
II does not work with the MPP ROM in-
stalled. There is no known fix for this.
Also, a word of caution to those who in-
tend to purchase AtariWriter If you use the
program with a printer that is not manufac-
tured by Atari, you may need to buy a
printer-driver program for S25 from APX
(Atari Program Exchange). This lets you
employ special printing functions such as
underhning, boldfacing, and both super-
and subscripts. Or you can do without it,
by embedding appropriate hexadecimal
print-format codes into the text.
Here's a hint that makes that chore easier.
Instead of typing in the string of codes,
type in a character that isn't used in your
text, such as an asterisk(*). Then use the
search-and-replace function to replace
each occurrence of that character with the
code string.
Joseph F. Carroll
Westminster, MD
GEMINI SCREEN DUMP
The Screen Dump program by Jerry White
and Fernando Herrera in the January issue
(ANTIC, Screen Dump, page 73) is great.
But to get it to run properly on my Gemini
10 printer, I had to change line 120 to read
as follows:
120 CLOSE #l:OPEN #1,8,0,"P:":
?#1;CHRS(27);CHRS(64);CHR,$(27)
;CHRS(51);CHR$(16)
Note the last two characters. CHRS(51)
tells the printer to prepare for the n/l44"
line feed; CHR»(16) sets the line feed at
16/144" (1/9"). This eliminates the extra
line space created by the original program.
Jim Thompsen
Brentwood, NY
DISCOVERING ANTIC
I recently purchased an Atari 800 and a disk
drive, and then discovered ANTIC. All I can
say is that if I'd known about your magazine
earlier, I would have purchased my Atari
sooner I consider ANTIC to be the bible
for the Atari owner, and I want to compli-
ment the entire staff. You make computing
fun.
Gary Silverman
Teaneck, NJ
NOTE AND POINT
1 look forward to receiving every issue of
ANTIC, particularly those in which you
survey peripherals (such as your January
1984 printer survey). So many different
peripherals are available for Atari com-
puters that it can be very difficult to decide
which to buy. As a result, I hope that you'll
continue to publish such articles.
I also hope to see some articles in ANTIC
about using data files on disk, and I'm
especially interested in the use of random
files with NOTE and POINT.
Anita Gould
White Plains, NY
Thanks for the kind ivords. We'll certain-
ly continue to survey peripheral products
that are of interest to Atari computer
users. In fact, we're planning to publish
a disk drive survey in our June issue. By
the way, a tutorial by Jerry White on the
use of NOTE and POINT ("Disk Update
Usi7ig NOTE and POINT") appears in this
issue —ANTIC ED
A=USR REBOOT
It is a documented fact that POKE 580,1
and [SYSTEM RESET] will do a cold start
boot. But did you ever wish you could do
the same thing from a programV A simple
A = USR (61733) will do a complete reboot
of the system. This happens to be the ad-
dress of the "reset" on the 6502 processor.
Vern L. Mastel
Mandam, ND
□
10
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
a M IM I T R E IM D'S
^
UuMiMiMmammmamm
For 200 years the people of Axia, the central planet In
a cluster of colonies known as the Local Group, have
relied on spacecraft from Earth for economic support.
The spacecraft, propelled by Earth's prized Hyperspace
Booster, arrive regularly at Axia, carrying Earth's latest
technological advances and trained personnel. These
shipments from Earth are strictly one-way, because the
Local Group does not have a Hyperspace Booster; Earth
has been dispatching the ships based only on her faith
in the colonists' ability to survive.
Four months ago, the expected ship did not arrive. The
colony has been caught in a wave of desperate con-
cern and wild speculation, for without Earth's assist-
ance, technological deterioration is certain.
Fifteen days ago, evidence of a second Hyperspace
Booster, lost somewhere in the Local Group, surfaced.
Discovery of this second Booster would mean a fortune
for those who found it, and would renew contact with
Earth; failure to find the Booster would mean the even-
tual destruction of the colonies. You and your col-
leagues have decided to search for it.
Your search takes you through a multitude of star sys-
tems and planets, using true three dimensional flight,
orbits, and orbital transfers. But your voyage will not
be free. You must earn money to maintain spacecraft
and crew. You will need to use your ship for passenger
transport, mining, trading in exotic goods, or, for the
desperate, piracy. You may need to defend yourself, for
there are others who are eager for profit and power.
You will have to construct the spacecraft most suited
to your endeavor and decide what is needed to survive
in deep space while contending with unknowns.
This real time game, with hundreds of kilobytes of data,
features intelligent enemy ships and total control of
on-board facilities such as computers, high-resolution
scanners, weapons, assault capsules, ore processors,
orbital shuttles, rescue pods, and much more.
Using high-resolution graphics, and more than 30 cus-
tom displays — distributed on four disks — Omnitrend's
Universe allows you to experience the life of a starship
captain in search of the lost Hyperspace Booster.
Designallon: t'ui Edur
Compann: Tram'ra Ha uan
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Omnitrend's Universe™ fits your ATARI® 600, 800, or 1200XL computer. Requires 48K and one Atari® 810 or 1050 disc drive.
To order contact your local dealer or telephone Omnitrend (203) 658-6917. Price: S89.95 plus applicable charges as noted below.
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Omnitrend's Universe™ will soon be available for the IBM-PC, Apple II, and Zenith Z-100.
Atari® 600, 800, 1200XL, 810, and 1050 are trademarks of Atari, Inc., Copyright® 1984 Omnitrend Software
OMNITREND
ROFTWARE
P.O. BOX 3 WESTSIMSBURY. CTOBOSa
help!
MICRO MISTAKE
In the February 1984 issue (ANTIC, page
8, I/O Board), we described a way to save
pictures drawn with Koalapad and Micro
Ilkistrator in a standardized format that is
compatible with other drawing programs
(such as Micro-Painter). We also noted that
there is a way to load such pictures into
Micro Illustrator, but that it didn't work
when we tried it. However, we've since
discovered that you can load and use a
standard-format picture if you refrain from
using the icon menu.
To save a picture in standard format, in-
sert a disk with at least 62 free sectors, and
press [INSERT] on the keyboard while the
picture is being displayed. The picture will
be saved as a file named PICTURE. To load
the file (or any standard-format picture file,
if you first rename it to PICTURE with
DOS), press [CLEAR] while the drawing
screen displays, rather than the icon menu.
POINTS OF ORDER
"Atari and the Epson" (ANTIC, page 65,
Januar}' 1984) pointed out some very useful
techniques. However, I also discovered a
few inaccuracies. First, I must disagree with
Mr. MacKay's claim that superscripts aren't
available if you use his technique with the
Atari Word Processor and the Epson.
Superscripts can be used with this se-
quence of keystrokes: [CTRL INSERT] [ESC]
[S] [CTRL INSERT] [CTRL ,]. They can be
turned off with [ESC] [T], not [CTRL] [H]
as specified in the article. Also, instead of
using the suggested [ESC] [@] to turn off
the underline, use [CTRL INSERT] [ESC] [-]
[CTRL INSERT] [CTRL ,]. In both of these
cases, MacKay seems to confuse the
character 0 (zero) with the ATASCII code
O, which is represented by [CTRL] [,].
The sequence for turning on the under-
line feature is also incomplete. The proper
sequence is: [CTRL INSERT] [ESC] [-] [CTRL
INSERT] [CTRL A]. To turn on the double-
width feature, use [CTRL INSERT] [ESC] [W]
[CTRL INSERT] [CTRL A]. To turn it off, use
[CTRL ,], not [CTRL A]. Double width re-
mains in effect until you turn it off, not just
for one line as MacKay states.
The article prompted me to try every
conceivable control code, and I've yet to
find one that cannot be used in this man-
ner. By the way, please pass my name and
address along to your readers. I'm anxious
to correspond with other ANTIC readers
about computer topics.
Julio Trujillo
103-695 W. 17th Ave.
Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada V5Z 1T7
WRONG NUMBER
The phone number listed for the Mobile
Fidelity Sound Lab in your August 1983
issue ("Get Your Head Straight," page 68)
is incorrect. The number given in the arti-
cle reaches a private residence. The correct
number is (213) 709-8440.
Richard Luxbacher
Newport, PA
Thank you for pointing out our error. Our
apologies to all concerned. — ANTIC ED
TYPER'S TOOLBOX
There are two minor errors in the listing
for "Typer's Toolbox" (ANTIC, page 75,
January 1984). They produce a different
TYPO table than the published table, but
do not prevent the program from running
properly.
Line 30160 has an extra space immedi-
ately following the right parenthesis in '(no
lines lost)', and line 30390 has an extra
space immediately following the comma
in 'ANY line range may be specified,'. If you
remove both of these spaces, the program
will generate the proper TYPO table. This
will also generate the proper format of the
printed line during the run of the program.
NO ROBOTS?
HELP! Yourself
Atari maintains toll-tree tele-
phone assistance numbers in the
continental U.S.
Hours (Pacific Standard Time)
7 a.m. to 11 a.m. —
noon to 4 p.m.
Within California tall
(800) 672-1404
Hlse'ivhere dial
(800) 53H-8543
What happened to the robotics articles by
Evan Rosen? I'm sure that I'm just one of
thousands of ANTIC readers who bought
a servo kit and put it together as described
in the January issue (ANTIC, "Has Your
Robot Hugged You Today?", page 38). 1 ex-
pected that, as promised, the series would
continue in the February issue. Imagine my
surprise, and consternation, at finding no
continuation in the February issue, and no
explanation for this. I feel that I have a right
to an answer.
Ken Hecker
FuUerton, CA
Several factors — some beyond our con-
trol — prevented us from continuing
Rosen's series on robotics in the February
issue. As a result, the next installment in
the series luill not appear until June. We
apologize for any inconvenience that this
interruption has caused our readers.
—ANTIC ED
ROAD RACE
There is an error in the listing for "Road
Race" (ANTIC, page 97, January 1984). The
end of the second physical line of line 380
should read "? SCR", not "? S CR". Also, to
keep the screen from changing colors after
nine minutes of play, add line 286 as
follows:
286 POKE 77,0
Ray Brown
Broken Arrow, OK
DISK LABEL ERRORS
There are several errors in the "Disk Label
Printer" listing and article in the January
1984 issue of ANTIC. First, as mentioned
in the article, CHRS(O) should be appended
to line 37 for condensed mode. The next
two corrections apply to the conversion of
the program for use with 3 '/-> " labels.
Instead of changing the 40 in line 13 ~ to
32, change it to 30. Also, change the 4 in
line 314 to 3.
If you're using a Gemini lOX printer,
you'll need to adjust the line spacing.
Change the 18 in line 33 to 12.
Chuck Reed
Emerado, ND Q
12
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
"Exodus: Ultima III, with a superior plot to
match its superior gaming system, is a great
game ... it sets new standards for fantasy
gaming state of the art."
Softlinc, November/December 1983
"Caverns of Callisto is a very challenging
and enjoyable arcade ga-me. I hope Origjij
Systems can continue to provide pro^'
of such quality." Core, December
.:aB§^
Created by Chuckles
$34.95
? Apple and Atari.
^
4
-^,f .f.
Created by Lord^Bfi'ttsh . ^
■ , $59.95
Apple, Atari, Com 64 and IBM
A,pple version MOCKINGBOARD enhanced
'S&filinn
Eciting to play and constari
triguinr""
©:
Irr' 115
(..awlTfraiisik i.nni!#«ftWt»i,
inside atari
BIOMECHANICS
AT THE OLYMPICS
Computers and the Olympic effort
by DAVID F. BARRY
Computers are alive and well at Goto
de Caza, California, the training
grounds of the Atari-sponsored U.S.
Women's Volleyball Team which is
now favored to capture the gold medal
in this summer's Olympic Games in
Los Angeles. Atari computers are used
to decipher volleyball statistics in the
office of the team's coach, Dr. Arie
Selinger; down the hall, Dr. Gideon
Ariel, the dean of modern sports
science, takes advantage of computer
power to study biomechanics, the
science that links the physics of move-
ment to human anatomy.
COMPUTERS TO THE RESCUE
Though biomechanical study existed
before Dr Ariel's arrival on the scene —
it was painstakingly studied by means
of slow motion film — it wasn't until
Ariel discovered how to quantify such
information with the computer that
biomechanics blossomed. The task
wasn't an easy one; it took more than
10,000 hours of programming time to
develop the essential software for the
field.
But now, Dr. Ariel can study any
movement, no matter how minute,
and can reproduce it on his video
screen as a three-dimensional graphic
image. Any sport can be quantified.
After all, "Movement is movement,"
Ariel notes, maintaining that all move-
ment obeys the laws of Newton's
universe.
DIGITIZING MOVEMENT
The secret of Ariel's procedure (and
the missing element for a long time in
biomechanics) is the digitizer, a screen
Flo Hyman
lined on two sides by 20,000 tiny
directional microphones. Any coordi-
nate on the screen that is touched by
a special magnetic pen is immediately
recorded by the computer.
To be digitized, a movement must
first be photographed with high-speed
cameras from a number of angles.
Once these shots have been devel-
oped, they're projected onto the digi-
tizer screen; Dr. Ariel then traces the
significant points of the motion with
a magnetic pen. The computer then
interprets these impulses and projects
the data to a video display as a three-
dimensional graphic image of the
movement.
The end result is a fascinating
method by which movement can be
analyzed and studied. Such data as
speed, force, and displacement are in-
stantly available. Whether it's studied
in slow motion or in frozen multiple
images (or as seen from the top, the
side, or the front), a movement se-
quence can be taken apart like a toy air-
plane. It can be played and replayed,
and run backwards, forwards or in
freeze-frames. Hypothetical variables
can be substituted for real ones. What
if, you want to know, the ball were hit
this hard, at this angle, and in this
direction? Results are immediately
available.
COMPUTERIZED SPIKES
Flo Hyman, a member of the U.S.
Women's Volleyball Team, is con-
sidered to be one of the finest spikers
in the world. After a few sessions with
Dr. Ariel, she discovered that she was
hitting the ball too late on her spikes —
one inch into her downward motion.
This caused her to hit the ball when
she wasn't fully extended, which re-
continued on page 16
14
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
WEliCOMETOAPSHAI.
YOU'RE JUST IN TIME FOR UINCH.
Boy, have you taken
a wrong turn. One moment
you're gathering treasure
and the next you're being
eyed like a side of beef.
You're in the Gateway
to Apshair The new cart-
ridge version of the Computer Game of the Year,*
Temple of Apshai!"
Gateway has eight levels. And over 400 dark,
nasty chambers to explore. And because it's joy-
stick controlled, you'll nave to move faster than ever.
But first you'll have to consider your strategy
*Game Manufacturers Association, 19S1
ij iL iL^z.ii-j^SL- you . -J LtiLOi . Ui glory? You'll
live longer if you're greedy, but slaying mon
sters racks up a higher score.
The Apshai series is the standard by
which all other adventure games are judged.
And novices will not survive.
They'll be eaten.
One player; Temple of Apshai, disk/cassette;
Gateway to Apshai, cartridge, joystick control.
'(Q.? aotewayh.ApiM
SnuaiGY GAMf 5 FOR nEAOIOM-OMi PIAYER.
inside atari
■■
A MATTER OF BIOMECHANICS
continued from page 14
suited in a loss of velocity. By correct-
ing this, she was able to increase the
The computer projects a digitized image of Flo
Hyman preparing to spike.
speed on her spike.
Dr. Ariel also uses biomechanics to
study the movements of the U.S. team's
opponents. He did this by photograph-
ing the top teams that compete against
the U.S. in international competition —
China, Japan, and the Soviet Union.
After digitizing this data at the Goto
Research Center, he discovered a num-
ber of interesting things. He demon-
strated one of them for me by press-
ing a few keys on the computer; this
entered the coordinates of an x-y axis,
which in turn oriented the picture at
the proper angle. Suddenly, an image
of a net and several figures on each side
of it appeared on the screen.
"Here's Flo Hyman going to spike in-
to the Chinese team," Ariel explains.
A thick Israeli accent is still present,
even after 19 years in the U.S. "The
question is, where should she spike?
You cannot simply spike at random."
Dr. Ariel taps at the keyboard again,
entering more data. The figures
animate, and the stick figure of Flo
Hyman rises up to meet the small,
white image of the ball. Ariel freezes
the picture.
"Now look," he notes. "She hasn't
even touched the ball and yet they [the
Chinese team] have already com-
mitted." Sure enough, all of the
Chinese figures have committed them-
selves in anticipation of the spike.
"Since they always do the same
thing," Ariel continues, "we can tell
her to make sure that she always spikes
to the point where the other team is
the weakest.
"This is how we're beating the
Chinese, the Japanese, anybody in the
world. Utilizing this kind of sophisti-
cated statistical analysis. It's like play-
ing poker with someone and knowing
what cards they're holding."
A HIGH-TECH BAN
Soon after the U.S. began winning in-
ternational tournaments, the rest of
the world caught on: Ariel and his
cameras were banned from inter-
national competitions. But not before
Coach Selinger had the information he
needed.
As Selinger explains, "With the com-
puter, you immediately have all this
data available. You know how high the
ball was set, how much time was avail-
able, how fast the Chinese block
moved, how fast the ball was moving.
All the information is there."
"I don't want to say that I help any
athletes," Dr. Ariel notes with cautious
modesty. "You can't say you help any-
body. We provide the tools that help
them to excel. But the minute you start
taking credit for anything, you upset
the coach . . . you upset everybody."
THE ROAD TO SUCCESS
Dr. Ariel has had plenty of interaction
with coaches. He threw the shot-put
for Israel in the I960 and 1964 Olym-
pics, and while studying for his Ph.D.
in computer science at the University
of Massachusetts (Amherst), he served
as an assistant track coach. It was at
that point that the idea of linking com-
puters to sports came to him. "Why
not combine Rocky with Star Wars?"
Until then, Ariel had to laboriously
trace every segment of a movement on
paper, limb by limb, frame by frame.
What he needed was a way to quan-
tify this information. He found his
answer while visiting Dartmouth's
medical school; the digitizer screen.
A video display of a completed spike.
After making this breakthrough, he
launched his first business. Computer-
ized Biomechanical Analysis, and
quickly landed a few major sporting
contracts. These contracts gave him
the money to delve deeper into bio-
mechanical research, which, in turn,
eventually resulted in an invitation by
the U.S. Olympic Committee for him
to become its director of research in
biomechanics.
As the U.S Women's Volleyball Team
enters the home stretch in its race
toward a potential gold medal, Gideon
Ariel can stand back and gain a good
deal of satisfaction from his contribu-
tions to the team. As he so modestly
maintains, "I don't want to say that I
help any athlete. We simply provide
the tools that allow them to excel."
But those tools have revolutionized
the way that these Olympic athletes
look at their bodies in motion, and
have provided them with a major
boost in their attempt to scale the
Olympian heights.
David F. Barry is a technical tvriter
in the computer field, and the author
of an upcoming book on the luord-
processing program Wordstar
n
16
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
The computer adventure you've been waiting for, . .
The creative mind ofatuart Smith, author of i4/i Baba and the Forty Thieves,
brings to life the world of mythic Greece in fantastic color and sound! Carefully
researched and skillfully programmed, Return of Heracles is computer entertainment
at its best. Twelve difficult and dangerous tasks will be assigned to you by Zeus, and
your heroes must accomplish them all. One or more players take on the role of an
ancient Greek hero or heroine. There are 19 heroes to choose from, or choose them all!
May the gods favor you!
Ami is m^'
Apple is a trademaik of
Apple Computer, Inc.
Atari is a trademark of Atari, Inc.
Commodore 64 is a trademark of
Commodore Business Machines, Inc.
QUTiLrry softw7ir€
21601 Mariiia Street . Chatsworth.CA 91311
(818)709-1721
For Apple II, Atari, &
Commodore 64 home computers.
On diskette. Requires 48K. $32.95
startins line
TALK TO YOUR
PERIPHERALS
Disk modifications from BASIC
by WILLIAM W. HOUGH
mum
After spending hours typing in a BASIC
program, have you ever tried to save
it to disk, only to find that there wasn't
enough room? And, of course, that
there wasn't another formatted disk to
be found for love or money? If this has
happened to you, you're not the first.
Atari's solution to this dilemma is the
MEM.SAV feature of DOS. But what
happens if you don't have MEM.SAV on
your disk?
Recently, I worked on a progam that
frequently wrote lengthy files to disk, and I ran into this
problem more than once. I needed a way to access DOS
commands from BASIC. Then it occurred to me that the
long-forgotten XIO commands from the abandoned BASIC
Reference Manual might be of service.
The program listing presented here is a subroutine you
can add to any BASIC program that requires access to DOS
functions. It allows you to use the Directory, Lock, Unlock,
Erase, and Rename file functions, and it can even format
a new disk.
PLANNING FOR EMERGENCIES
Keep a LISTed copy of the subroutine on your utilities disk.
If you ever encounter the situation mentioned above, add
the subroutine to your program with the ENTER command.
Then type — in immediate mode (with no line number)
— GOSUB 29700.
HOW TO USE THE PROGRAM
The subroutine is quite straightforward. I've used unusual
line numbering to keep it "above" most user programs, but
"below" other ENTER-type utilities, like renumbers, which
commonly use a line range above 30000. Type in the sub-
routine, then LIST it to disk. Use ENTER to merge it with
your program. When you want to use DOS functions, just
SYNOPSIS
J'his (irticle's listing is a snhrouline
that you can add toyouroirn BASIC
programs to gain control of/unctions
that are normally accessible only
from DOS. The subroutine recjuires
BASIC and Atari DOS, and runs on
all Atari computers.
insert the command GOSUB 29700
into your program.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Line 29700 clears the screen and
causes the DIM statements to be
skipped if they've already been
executed. Lines 29720 to 29740 con-
tain the disk-directory routine. The
POKE in line 29750 ensures that an
upper-case response is provided to the
prompt that asks you if you want to
change the disk. If the answer to this prompt is "No," you're
done. If it's "Yes," line 29790 prompts you to specify the
function you need. Lines 29800 to 29840 set the command
byte for the XIO statement, depending on the function
you've selected. If you're using Rename, line 29820
prompts you for "01dname,Newname." It's important to
enter the names in this format. For the other functions —
Lock, Unlock, and Erase — we branch to line 29860, which
prompts you for a filename. Line 2 9870 prefixes the "D:".
Two of these functions. Erase and Format, have the
potential to partially or completely destroy the data on your
disk. Therefore, in lines 29890 to 29910, you're asked, "Do
you really mean it?" Line 29880 skips this section if a non-
destructive function has been selected.
This leads us to line 29930, the promised XIO command.
We've determined the command byte, CMD, and the file-
name, CHFILE$ . The channel number (1) and the two auxil-
iary bytes (the two zeros) are unimportant here, but are
required by BASIC. The TRAP in this line causes execu-
tion to branch to line 29950 in the event of a mistyped
filename or other error. Lines 29780, 29850, and 29910
perform a similar function if you mistype a response to
other prompts. Line 29950, which is essentially a one-line
subroutine, causes the screen border to flash red and the
continued on page 20
18
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
Its a hungry galaxy out there5
and everyone expects to ba«aken
careof yesterday. Thank their lucky
stars that Lance Lucre '"and othersn .
like him are willing to risk Ijfe, limb
ancUflnancial security to mak?sure
that the planets haveVhaKthey
needl For a slight f)rofit, o^course.
fise your multi-appointed
cockpit controls .to guide your
freighter at the speed of light to ,
those points in the galaxy where
the need is the greatest, and il^e
profits are the highest! But keep a
look out for Security Forces, they
like to take cargo, bribes, or
anything else you've got. *^
Lance Lucre is a disk based gam-
ing system that allows you to store
all of your current game's par-
ticulars, so you can pick up again
where you left off. Display is
dynamically 3-D, from warping
between the stars to hovering on
a planet surface. Ask for Lance
Lucre™ at your computer store, or
simply order it from us on our toll-
free line.
Lone' Trucker of the Space'w^ysr
Lance's play fields were developed on
ANTICA-4
NOW WITH
MULTI-CHARACTER-SET
CAPABILITIES
■ AUTOMATIC CHARACTER FILE GENERATION
■ AUTOMATIC MULTI-CHARACTER MATTING (^
■ MULTI-CHARACTER PICTURE ANIMATOR i
■ 4-CHANNEL SOUND ANIMATIONS
■ MAGNIFIED CHARACTER DISPLAY
■ FINE LINE DRAWING OVER COMPLEX BACKGROUNDS
■ FULL FUNCTION MATTING EDITOR
■ FIVE SPEED FINE-SCROLLING FIELD
■ FULL PROPORTIONAL COLOR AND LUMINOSITY CONTROL
■ DISK FILING SYSTEM
■ MULTI-CHARACTER FIELD-FILL
■ COMBINED CHARACTER GENERATION
■ INTERNAL CHARACTER SCROLLING
■ CURSOR-WIPE REPLACEMENT OF MATTED BACKGROUNDS
ANTICA 4 Is packaged with a full character set and file of
animated pictures.
PO Box 22889
Seattle. Washington 98122
ij^nri
1-206-323-8270
Outside Wasliington call toll-free
1-80O422-5525
Visa and Mastercharge accepted. Atari "' is a registered trademark of Atari. Inc.
Programmer Inquiries Welcome
SAVE YOURSELF SOME TIME!
With The Programmer's Toolkit and Atari BASIC
Write Programs Faster! Thirty-one powerful routines are at
your fingertips — things lil<e decimal alignment and kid-proof
keyboard entry. You can even play background music while
your program executes!
Write Faster Programs! Use the speed of machine lan-
guage for disk file reads and writes, string searches, text
justification, and player-missile graphics. And more!
Learn Fast, Too! You don't need to learn a new language —
it's all done with BASIC. A user's manual guides you through
forty-two diskette examples — no lengthy typing!
Time is Money — but just a little! Thirty-one routines for
$29.95 — that's less than a dollar each! A free loan analysis
program is included.
The Programmer's Toolkit $29.95
(on diskette for Atari 400/800 with 24K RAIVI)
At Your Dealer or from:
SureSoft (918) 743-5363
8177 S. Harvard, Suite 428
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74137
Add $2 shipping and handling. VISA and MasterCard accepted by phone. OK residents
add 5% sales tax. Allow two weeks for personal checks.
Dealer inquiries are invited.
Atari is a trademark of Atari, Inc. The Programmer's Toolkit is a trademark of SureSoft.
APE • FACE
ATARI Parallel Printer Interface
• I. O, Plug
• No Chip Change
» Complete with Cable $69.95 with Printer
$7995
GORILLA BANANA
SOColumn
Grapliics
50 Characters/Second
189.
95
ATR 8000 (16k)
'299.
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PRINTERS • DISK DRIVES • MONITORS
Call For Prices
5V4 " Double Density Diskettes S 1 3 9
with Sleeves any quantity
ea.
10 Disks in Plastic Case
jfe
ong Diskettes
$1795
"Our Name Is Our Warranty"
CALL FOR FREE ATARI SOFTWARE CATALOG
BUg e BVTES DF ELECTRanica
TO
ORDER
CALL
In Georgia Call (404) 475-6755
" Atari IS a registered trademark of Atari Inc.
1-800-241-5119
Starting line
continued from page 18
computer to emit a nasty sound if you've made a mistake.
If a change to tfie disk is successful, tfie altered directory
is displayed. To exit the subroutine, simply answer "No"
to the prompt "Do you want to change the disk?"
William W. Hough, an engineer with degrees front North-
western and Stanford, has been interested in micro-
computers for a relatively short time, but mastering the
Atari has become a principal leisure-time activity for
him. Bill also is the author of a logic game, Brainboggler,
which is available through Educational Software, Inc.
29700 ? CHR$(125):IF SECOND THEN 29720
29710 DIM FILE$(27) ,CHFILE$(27) , ANS$(1
) ,TXT$(20) :SECGND=1
29720 CLOSE #1:0PEN #1,6,0,"D:*.*':TRA
P 29740
29730 INPUT #1,TXT$:? TXT$:GOTO 29730
2 974 0 CLOSE #1 : TXT $= ■■ : T R A P 40000
29750 POKE 702,64:? :? "Do you want to
cliange the disk ";
29760 INPUT ANS$:IF ANS$<>"Y" THEN TRA
P 40000:RETURN
29770 GOTO 29790
29780 GOSUB 29950 : GOTO 29760
29790 ? :? "QOCK, QNLOCK, QENAME, QRAS
E or QORMAT"
29800 INPUT ANS$:IF ANS$="L" THEN CMD=
35:G0T0 29860
29810 IF ANS$-U" THEN CMD=36:G0T0 298
60
29820 IF ANS$-R" THEN CIVID=32:? :? "En
tor OLDNAME , NEWNAME" : GOTO 29870
29830 IF ANS$="E" THEN CMD=33:G0T0 298
60
29840 IF ANS$="F" THEN CMD=2 54 : C H F I L E $
="D:" : GOTO 2988 0
29850 GOSUB 29950:GOTO 29800
29860 ? : ? "Enter FILENAME " ;
2987 0 FILE$="' : INPUT F I L E $ : C H F I L E$=" D :
" :CHFILE$(3)=FILE$: IF FILES-" THEN GO
SUB 29950 : GOTO 29870
29880 IF ANS$>"F" THEN 29930
2 989 0 ? : ? "Do you really mean it " ;
29900 INPUT ANS$:IF ANS$="Y" THEN 2 9 93
0
29910 GOTO 29700
29920 GOSUB 29950:GOTO 29900
29930 TRAP 29940:XIO CMD , #1 , 0 , 0 , C H F I L E
$:GOTO 29700
29940 GOSUB 29950:GOTO 29700
29950 POKE 712,68:? C H R $ ( 2 5 3 ) : POKE 712
, 0: RETURN Q
20
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
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education
MATH
WIZARD
An educational shoot-em-up
by MATTHEW RATCLIFF
Math Wizard allows you or your
children to practice addition, subtrac-
tion, and multiplication problems at
different skill levels.
SYNOPSIS
HOW TO ENTER THE PROGRAM
Lines 20 through 80 contain two
machine-language routines in the form
of strings. Refer to the Listing Conven-
tions table in this issue (see the Table
of Contents) to help you type in this section. The seven-
teenth character in line 40 (which is also present in line
60) is an inverse-underline character. To produce it, press
the inverse-video key, hold down [SHIFT], and press the
minus [-] key. Check your typing with TYPO, and don't
run the program until it checks out, or it may lock up the
computer.
HOW TO USE MATH WIZARD
RUN the program. Math Wizard's first display consists of
a menu of game options. Plug a joystick into Port 1 . Move
the stick up and down to position the flashing cursor and
select different options. Pushing the stick to the left or right
changes the value of the selected option. If you hold the
joystick steadily in either of these positions, the change
of values will gradually accelerate to make a wide range
of values easily accessible. Options include:
• Minimum starting number — The smallest value (MIN)
to be used in the math problems.
• Maximum starting number — The largest value (MAX)
to be used in the problems. This value must exceed the
minimum starting number by at least five.
• % Correct to Advance — Each round consists of six
problems. To proceed to the next round, in which both
MIN and MAX increase, your score must match or beat
this value.
• Difficulty Increment — The number by which MAX will
increase after each round.
This program presents a basic arith-
metic drill in a colorful, arcade-style
format. It requires 16KRAM(24Kfor
disk), BASIC, and a joystick, and runs
on all Atari computers.
• Rounds per Game.
• Problem Type.
The high score, most recent score,
and problem type for the high-score
game are displayed near the top of the
menu screen.
HOW TO PLAY
Press the fire button to begin the game.
The number of the current round, the
problem number, and your percentage of correct answers
appear at the far right. At the top of the screen the current
problem type appears; below that is an answer box. As the
round begins, six problems scroll toward the bottom of
the screen, where you're stationed with a number blaster
(the flashing cursor). Position the cursor under the prob-
lem whose answer corresponds to the one displayed in
the answer box above. Press the fire button to select the
problem. Ifmore than one problem has the indicated solu-
tion, choose the one that is nearest to the cursor This will
save time, and earn you more bonus points at the end of
the round.
If you're correct, you'll blast the problem back to the
top of the screen and the correct answer will appear under-
neath it. Then the next answer will be displayed and the
scrolling will continue. If you're wrong, the scrolling con-
tinues, but nothing else happens.
Should any of the round's problems reach the bottom
of the screen unanswered, each will scroll back up to the
top, and its correct answer will be displayed. If your per-
centage of correct answers is below the minimum, you have
to play another round with the same values of MIN and
MAX. If your percentage is high enough, you receive a
bonus score based on your speed. Your score is based on
your number of correct answers, plus bonuses. Any
incorrect answer's value is deducted from your final
score.
continued on pase 24
22
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
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available for Atari and
Commodore 64 computers,-'
48K disk or cassette.
I9M-PC version will b^
-4«ai|aliie^ttlfc-=i:
^^,SdaflesteiM^iHt0ce-f$g^
^^^is outstanding real^in^
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SaveGame/ -T^^j
Feature^/ X iV-^:^
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Scenarios . / ' / /
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PLAYERS HAVE: / / /
• Tactical and Strategic Air Rbwfer /
• Tactical and Nuclear Forces T
• Continuous Battlefield Status and New/* Service
Updated / /
• Multiple Combat Uriits, Including: Infantry, Mechan
ized Armor and Attack Helicopters /- —
//
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MiCrOPr/se Software 10B16Beave,DaUoaa,Hun.,ja.Jey,MD21^^
DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED
\ ATARI is the reglsUred trademark ol Atari, Inc.
Commodore 64 la theVeglstered trademark of CommodoVe Business Machines, Inc.
IBIM-PC Is the I'eglstered trademark ol InternallonaVBuslness Machines, Inc.
education
MATH WIZARD continued from page 22
MACHINE-LANGUAGE ROUTINES
Math Wizard uses two machine-language routines, which
are found in the strings GTX$ and CX$ in lines 20 through
80. GTXS, called GRAFTEXT, lets you add text to a graphics
screen. CXS is a Mode 8 multicolor routine. It fills a
Graphics 8 screen very rapidly with a specified byte or with
random values.
Line 90 contains an example of the calling format for
GRAFTEXT. If you add the statement GX = ADR(GTXS),
you can use GX as the first parameter: A = USR(GX,ADR
(B«),LEN(BS),X,Y). This puts string B$ on the screen at co-
ordinates X,Y in Graphics Modes 4, 6, or 8. If you use the
form A = USR(GX,ADR(BS),LEN(BS),X), it puts BS on the
screen at X; the Y position is taken from the cursor's cur-
rent position (set by the most recent PLOT, DRAWTO, or
LOCATE command). The form A = USR(GX,ADR("TEXT"),
4) displays 'TEXT' at the current cursor location. The call
A = USR(GX, ADR("X")) displays 'X' at the current position.
If you omit the length parameter, the default value is one.
An example of an invalid call to GRAFTEXT is A = USR
(GX). This call would cause the console buzzer to sound,
and return control to BASIC. If a USR call contains too many
parameters, GRAFTEXT uses what it needs, cleans up the
stack and provides a safe return to BASIC.
For the best results with the Mode 8 multicolor routine,
first call Graphics 8 and set the background to black as
follows: GRAPHICS 8-(-l6:POKE 710,0. The statement
A = USR(ADR(CX$),165) fills the screen memory with the
byte value l65. Permissible values range from zero to 255.
Different values cause varying degrees of artifacting, which
result in a number of multicolor combinations. To fill the
screen with random values, omit the second parameter:
A = USR(ADR(CX$)). This creates an interesting display, but
is of limited usefulness. This routine can also be used in
GTIA Modes 9, 10, and 11. It modifies 7680 bytes of
memory, so it shouldn't be used with graphics modes that
require less RAM.
Matthew RatcUff is an electrical engineer and micro-
computer enthusiast. He owns a customized Atari 400
^■'ith 48K, and has been programming in BASIC for six
It
years
5 REM MATH WIZARD
6 REM BY MATHEW RATCLIFF
7 REM ANTIC MAGAZINE APRIL 1984
10 DIM GTX$(333) ,BS(40) ,CX$(55) :CX=ADR
(CXS ) :GX=ADR(GTX$)
2 0 GTX$( 1 ,60)="ltiHBaTE<EI"g<EvgH3w|lkaTB
sD«QSEI]|](H(]h|](|hEf]hEQ^h hqfQTHhEnhEQ"
3 0 GTX$(61 JZ0)=jEphhW|ljphTj^^
r^]^E||iEQ|aiEI&[!)2ES:\H e Fb lllllll J!MiiIlB^PlTtg3
40 GTXS ( 121 , 180)="nZQ*r%B^1feAJ|JJLH±U3X
UiUHVo+RTn T*Ilf U%Tn V%Un W^l X f XPBf
50 GTX$( 181 , 240)='S1
□ EIl|^eCXQ|ll4||mzQ8
ED
60GTX$ ( 241 ,300)='
ri|pQj|j^ f E3&C3&|IQ^KQifpI3 f □ f I
70 GTXS (3B1.. 33 3 )='bleiMlHjfIIHlJ!H'liTn?l
%Vn T%W-. UF\P=C
X^^YE^IIIlE^
80CX$=i_|Mh_
l»jjh.||^3t'|i] 1^0
90 REM A=U S R ( A D R ( GTXS ) , A D R ( B $ ) , L E N ( B $ )
. X , Y )
100 DIM PNT(6) , ANS(6) ,MIX(6) , A$(40) ,C$
(40) ,WS( 10)
110 MIN=5 :MAX=10:TYPE=1 : PCNT=6 : ROUNDS=
1 0 : BPCT=0 : DIF=1 : TH=1 : HSCR=0 : SCGRE=0
120 GOTO 81 0
130 FOR W=15 TO 0 STEP -3:S0UND 0,25*(
X+1 ) , 1 0,W: NEXT W: RETURN
140 A$="ROUND # " :A$(9)=STR$( ROUND)
150 A=USR(GX,ADR(A$),LEN(A$),48,48)
1 6 0 A=USR (GX,ADR(" COMPLETED"), 9, 48, 56)
170 A$-BONUS = " : A$(9)=STR$( 1 76-Y)
180 SC0RE=SC0RE+1 76-Y
190 A=USR(GX, ADR(A$),LEN(AS),48,72)
200 A$='SCORE = ■ : AS( 9)=STR$(SC0RE) : A=
USR(GX, ADR( AS) , LEN( AS) , 48, 84)
210 FOR 1=1 TO 50
220 A=240*RND( 0) : FOR 0=0 TO 15 STEP 5
230 SOUND 0, A, 1 0,O:SOUND 1 , A-h5 , 1 0 , Q : N E
XT Q : NEXT I
240 SOUND 0, 0, 0, 0:SOUND 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 : R E T U R N
250 ON TYPE GOTO 260, 270, 280
260 B$=
■ + ■
270 B$=
■ + ■ -H
:GOTO 290
■ - ■ -
:GOTO 290
■ X ■ X
280 8$='
■ X -
290 FOR 1=1 TO 6:MIX(I)=I
300 A=INT(MAX*nND(0) )+MIN:IF A>MAX THE
N 300
310 B=INT(MAX*RND(0) )+MIN:IF B>MAX THE
N 31 0
320 IF B>A THEN C=A : A=B : B=C
330 ON TYPE GOTO 340, 350, 360
340 ANS ( I )=A-i-B : GOTO 370
24
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
education
350 ANS(I)=A-B:GOTO 370
360 ANS( I )=A*B
37 0 C=6*(I-1 )+2:B$(C, C+1 )=STR$(A) : B$(C
+3 , C+4)=STR$(B)
380 NEXT I
390 FOR 1=6 TO 1 STEP -1:PNT(I)=1
400 A=INT( I*RND( 9) )+1
410 B=MIX( A) :MIX(A)=MIX(I):MIX(I)=B:NE
XT I
420 RETURN
430 GRAPHICS 24:P0KE 710,0:A=USR(CX,IN
T(255*RND(0) ) )
440 ON TYPE GOTO 450,460, 470
450 A = IISR/RX. ADR( •i^liliHiliK»8" K 1 2. 1 1
2,0):GOTO 480
460 A=USR ( GX, ADR('J|Q!IiiUQQ£B" ) , 1 5
,96,0): GOTO 480
47 0 ft=ii s R f R y A n R ( 'rmillilJBItllililMII" \
,18,88,0)
480 FOR J=0 TO 6:F0R 1=16 TO 176 STEP
8
490 A = USR(GX, ADRCl" ) , 1 , J*48, I)
500 NEXT I:NEXT J
510 RETURN
520 SCORE=SCORE + ANSW: PNT(X+1 )=0
530 W$=B$(6*X+1 , 6*X+7 ) : FOR I=Y TO 16 S
TEP -1
540 SOUND 0, I , 10, 5:S0UND 0,1+5,10,5
550 A=USR(GX, ADR(W$) , 7,XX-24, I) :COLOR
1 : PLOT XX+4, 1+8
560 NEXT I
570 w$='-' :W$(2)=STR$( ANSW) : IF ANSW<10
THEN W$(LEN(W$)+1 )-■ "
58 0 A=USR(GX, ADR(W$) , LEN(W$) ,XX-16,24)
: B$(6*X+2 , 6*X+6)="
590 SOUND 0,0,0, 0:SOUND 1,0,0,0
600 COLOR 0: PLOT XX + 4, 1 84
610 DRAWTO XX + 4, 32
620 A=240*RND(0) : FOR 0=0 TO 15 STEP 5
630 SOUND 0, A, 1 0,Q : SOUND 1 , A + 5 , 1 0 , Q : N E
XT 0
640 SOUND 0, 0, 0, 0:SOUND 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 : R E T U R N
650 X1=X:F0R 1=15 TO 0 STEP -0.1:SOUND
0, 25e*RND(0) ,8,1: NEXT I
660 FOR W=1 TO 6:IF PNT(W)=0 THEN 690
670 X=W-1 :XX=X*48+24: ANSW=ANS(W)
680 GOSUB 530 : SCORE=SCORE-ANSW: TOK=TOK
-1 : GOSUB 770
690 NEXT W
700 XX=24+48*X1 :X=X1 : RETURN
710 A$=" ■■ : A$(3)=STB$(PC) : A$(LEN( A$) +
1)='J"
720 A=USB(GX,ADR(A$),LEN(A$),48,48)
730 A=USR(GX, ADR(" 'REPEAT R 0 U N D •■ ) , 1 4 ,
48,56)
740 FOR 1=1 5 TO 0 STEP -0.05
750
760
770
780
R$(P
790
A$) +
800
81 0
820
830
840
QjQ
850
0 37
860
K 0
870
CHR$
880
37 :
890
124)
900
N 34
91 0
920
TO 3
930
940
X,Y
950
960
970
980
990
1000
1010
1020
1030
1040
Se I
1050
r e a s
1060
SO
RE
PC
A =
C)
FO
I,
RE
GR
PO
PO
?
PO
PO
PO
(1
PO
7
FO
UNO 0,15*1,6,1 :NEXT I
TURN
=INT( 100* (TOK/6) )
USR(GX, ADRC0' ) , 1 ,301 , 128
: A$( LEN( A$) + 1 )=•■ "
R 1=0 TO LEN( A$)-1 : A=USR(
1,301,1 36 + 8*1 ) : NEXT I
TURN
APHICS 0:POKE 77, 0: REM NE
KE 710,0: POKE 752, 1
SITION 24,0:? ■ * MATH WIZ
"^mi '-;SCORE;" ITWiin ";H
TH
SITION 2,2:? CHR$ ( 17 ) ; : FO
CHRS ( 1 8 ) ; : NEXT I : ? CHR$ (
SITION 2,3: ? C H R $ ( 1 2 4 ) ; ■ U
CHR$( 27) ; CHR$( 31 )
SITION 28,3:? CHR$(124);"
24) ;■• L/R" ; CHR$( 124) ;
SITION 2,4:? CHR$ ( 1 ) ; : FOR
CHR$( 18);: NEXT I : ? CHR$(4
R 1 = 5 TO 19: POSITION 2 , I
POSI
,1:?
POSI
POSI
7 : ?
REST
FOR
: ? B
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DAT
DAT
DAT
DAT
DAT
e c t
DAT
e Va
DAT
TIO
CH
TIO
TIO
CHR
ORE
1 = 1
$; :
4,
4,
3,
3,
6,
A 3
N 28,1:? CHR$( 1 24)
R$( 124) ;
N 38,1:? CHRS ( 1 24 )
N 2,20:? CHR$| 26) ; : F
$(18);:NEXT I:? CHR$
) : A$=ST
GX, ADR(
W GAME
ARD *•■
SCR;" Q
R 1 = 3 T
5) ;
SE STIC
UP/DN" ;
1 = 3 TO
);
? CHR$(
POSITIO
NEXT I
OR 1 = 3
(3);
I t e
A 2
I u e
A 2
TO 12:READ X , Y , B $ : P 0 S I T I 0 N
NEXT I
5, Minimum Starting #
7, Maximum Starting #
9,% Correct to Advance
II.DIfficuity Increment
13, Rounds Per Game
,15, Problem Type
,17,(1) Addition
,18,(2) Subtraction
,19,(3) Multiplication
, 21 .Move STICK 0 UP/DOWN t o
m
, 2 2 , L e f t— D e c r e a s e Right— Inc
,23, Press |nJj to Begin Gam
1070 X=35 : Y=5 :SEL=1 : DELA=50
1080 FOR 1=1 TO 6
1 090 POSITION X, Y
1100 ON I GOTO 1110,1120,1130,1140,115
0,1160
1110 ? MIN ; : GOTO 1170
1120 ? MAX ; : GOTO 1170
1130 ? INT( 1 00*PCNT/6 ) ; : GOTO 1170
1140 ? DIF ; : GOTO 1170
continued on pase 28
April 1984
25
ti*aiTiBimiiftj.cm!i';iiJ...'j:j
fM^
Atari is a registered trademark of Atari, Inc
The TRAK AT-D4
is compatible with
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- -4.-43]2)ug68;^71'^ , " -"
.• , l5lV09derr^e.7T)iO«imef8.Gro««,^J5qiim
.J
education
MATH
1 1 50
1 160
1 170
1 1 80
■ ; :N
1 190
$(31
1200
1210
N 1 5
1 220
? CH
I : G
1230
1240
1250
1310
1 260
1270
IF S
1280
1 290
1300
10, W
1310
440,
1 320
1330
1340
: ? M
1350
1360
1 370
: ? M
1380
1390
1400
9: ?
1410
1420
1430
11:?
1440
ROU
1450
1460
13:7
1470
■ ; :N
YPE =
1480
1 490
16 + T
1500
1510
WIZARD continued from pasc
? ROUNDS ; :GOTO 1
? TYPE ;
Y=Y+2:NEXT I
FOR 1=1 TO 3:P0S
EXT I
POSITION 4 , 1 6 + TY
);
POSITION 30, 2*SE
A=STICK( 0) : IF N
30
IF A=15 THEN POS
R$(20) ; : DELA=50: F
OTO 1200
IF A=13 THEN B=S
IF A=14 THEN B=S
B=(A=7)-(A=1 1 ) :I
25
170
ITION 4,16+1:? ■
PE : ? CHR$(27) ;CHR
L + 3 : ? CHR$ ( 1 48 ) ;
OT (STniG(0) ) THE
ITION 30, 2*SEL + 3 :
OR 1=1 TO 15:NEXT
EL+1 :GOTO 1270
EL-1 :GOTO 1 270
F B<>0 THEN GOTO
GOTO
POSI
EL<1
IF S
FOR
FOR
: NEXT
ON S
1470
MIN=I
IF M
POSI
IN; :G
MAX=
IF M
POSI
AX; :G
PCNT
IF P
POSI
INT( 1
DIF =
IF D
POSI
DIF ;
ROUN
NDS=9
IF R
POSI
ROUN
FOR
EXT I
1
IF T
POSI
YPE : ?
DELA
FOR
1210
TION 30,
THEN SEL
EL>6 THE
1=1 TO 1
W=15 TO
W:GOTQ
EL GOTO
MIN+B : IF
IN>MAX-5
TION X, 5
OTO 1500
MAX + B : IF
AX<MIN+5
TION X, 7
OTO 1500
=PCNT+B:
CNT<1 TH
TION X, 9
00*PCNT/
DIF + B : IF
IF>20 TH
TION X, 1
:GOTO 15
DS=ROUND
9
0UNDS<1
TION X, 1
DS; :GOTO
1=1 TO 3
:TYPE=TY
2*SEL+3 : ? " " ; : SEL=B
= 6
N SE
5 :NE:
0 STI
1200
1320,1350,1380,1410,1
L = 1
;XT I:OELA=50
EP -1 :SOUND 0,80
YPE>3 TH
TION X, 1
CHR$(27
=DELA-5 :
1=15 TO
MIN<=0 THEN MIN=1
THEN MIN=MAX-5
: ? ■■ •';: POSITION X, 5
MAX>99 THEN MAX=99
THEN MAX=IVIIN + 5
: ? ■ ••;: POSITION X, 7
IF PCNT>6 THEN PCNT=6
EN PCNT=1
:? ■■ ••;: POSITION X,
6) ; :GOTO 1500
DIF<1 THEN DIF=1
EN DIF=20
1 : ? ■■ •;: POSITION X,
00
S+B:IF R0UNDS>99 THEN
THEN R0UNDS=1
3 : ? ■ ■;: POSITION X,
1500
: POSITION 4,16 + 1:? "
PE+B : IF TYPE<1 THEN T
EN TYPE=3
5 : ? TYPE ; : POSITION 4,
) ;CHR$(31 ) ;
IF DELA<1 THEN DELA=1
0 STEP -5 :SOUNO 0,60,
10,1: NEXT I
1520 FOR 1 = 1 TO DELA:NEXT I: GOTO 1200
153 0 SCORE = 0:X=2:XX=1 2 0 : P C NT=I NT ( 1 0 0 * P
CNT/6)
1540 ON TYPE GOTO 15 5 0,1560,1570
155 0 C$="^+HI=" :GOTO 1580
1560 C$="^-^=" : GOTO 158 0
1570 C$="^Hx^H="
1580 FOR R0UND=1 TO ROUNDS
1590 GOSUB 43 0:GOSUB 2 5 0 : A S='lili¥iin 1 Q
EUll]" : Y=3 2
1600 FOR 1=0 TO LEN( A$)-1 : A=USR(GX, ADR
(A$) + I ,1,301,8*1) :NEXT I
1610 A$=STR$( ROUND) : FOR 1=0 TO LEN(A$)
-1 : A=USR(GX, ADR( A$) + I, 1 ,301 , 1 12 + 8*1 ) :N
EXT I
1620 T0K=6:G0SUB 770
1630 REM WORK 6 PROBLEMS FOR CURRENT R
OUND
164 0 FOR PR0B=1 TO 6 : A $=S T R $ ( P R 0 B ) : A=U
SR(GX, ADR(A$) ,1,301 ,40)
1650 ANSW=ANS(MIX( PROB) ) : C$( 7)=" ■■ :
C$(7)=STRS(ANSW) :C$(LEN(C$) + 1 )=••
16 6 0 A=U S R ( G X , A D R ( C $ ) , L E N ( C $ ) , 1 1 2 , 8 )
1670 REM UPDATE POSITION OF PROBLEMS
1680 A=USR(GX, ADR(B$) ,37, 0, Y)
1690 A = USR(GX, ADRCB" ) , 1 ,XX, 184)
1700 A=STICK(0) :IF A=1 5 THEN 1740
1710 X1=XX:X=X+(A=6 OR A=5 OR A=7)-(A=
10 OR A=11 OR A=9):IF X<0 THEN X=0
1720 IF X>5 THEN X=5
1730 XX=24 + 48*X: A=USR(GX, ADR(" ■ ) , 1 , X 1
, 184) : A = USR(GX, ADR( -[B" ) , 1 ,XX, 184) :GOSU
B 130
174 0 A=USR(GX, AD R( ■■□"), 1 ,XX, 18 4) : IF ST
RIG( 0 ) THEN 1 790
1750 COLOR 1:PL0T XX + 4 , 1 84 : D R AWT 0 XX + 4
, Y + 8
1760 IF ANS(X+1 )=ANSW AND PNT(X+1)=1 T
HEN G0SU8 520:GOTO 1810
1770 COLOR 0:PLOT XX + 4 , 1 8 4 : D R AWT 0 XX + 4
, Y + 8 :T0K=T0K-1 : GOSUB 770
1780 FOR 1=15 TO 0 STEP -0.2:SOUND 0,2
55*RND(0) ,8,1 :NEXT I
1790 Y=Y+1:IF Y>176 THEN Y=176:G0SUB 6
50:GOTO 1820
1800 GOTO 1 680
1810 POKE 77, 0:NEXT PROB
1820 GOSUB 770:IF PC<PCNT THEN GOSUB 7
1 0: GOTO 1 590
1830 GOSUB 140 :MAX=MAX+DIF :MIN=MIN+INT
(DIF*RND( 0)+1 )
1 840 PC=1 00:NEXT ROUND
1850 IF SCORE>HSCR THEN H S C R=S C 0 R E : T H=
TYPE
1 860 PCNT=6 : GOTO 81 0
28
ANTIC, The ATARI Resource
education
TYPO TABLE
Va r
i a b I e
Line
5
70
160
270
390
510
610
720
840
930
1050
1 170
1280
1400
1510
1630
1 740
1840
c h e
n urn
c k s
r a n
60
150
260
380
500
600
710
830
920
1 04
1 16
1 27
139
150
1 62
1 73
183
186
um
1 1 24524
Code
GA
TL
JZ
JK
UC
XW
AE
DN
IB
YZ
BA
PG
BZ
LG
ME
GF
Tfl
VN
Length
563
527
525
428
506
508
523
483
578
342
335
525
489
513
520
601
51 7
65
H
INTERFAST-r
The Printer Interface for Your ATARI
ONLY $169.95!
BUFFERED- 4K RAM buffer.
COMPATIBLE-With all ATARI computers and
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as special character sets — now with customizer
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SERIAL BUS MODEM ADAPTOR
I ADVANCED INTERFACE DEVICES |
INTERFAST-I is a trademark of Advanced Interface Devi.
ATARI is a registered trademark of Atari, Inc.
Atari 850 Iritarface Module is a registered trademark of A
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April 1984
29
education
UGHT PEN
DOODLE
Learning by trial and error
by JOHN and MARY HARRISON
The name "light pen" is actually a mis-
nomer. Unlike a miniature flashlight,
a light pen does not emit a beam of
light. Rather, it is simply a slender rod
that contains a phototransistor which
responds to the light emitted by a TV
or monitor screen. As a result, light
pens are most responsive when there
is a sharp contrast in brightness be-
tween the screen's background and the
characters being displayed.
Several manufacturers offer light
pens for sale. These range in price from
S25 to over SI50. And if you're handy
with a soldering iron, you can build
one from scratch.
EDUCATIONAL USES
SYNOPSIS
1
This drawing program requires
BASIC, 16K, and a light pen. Future-
house of Chapel Hill, NC, and Tech-
Sketch of Fairfield, NJ, are two manu-
facturers of light pens for Atari com-
puters. The program runs on all
models of Atari computers. UOOXJ.
owners may have to change the state-
ment:
SETCOLOR 4,0,14
in line 1010. If you get a distorted
display, change the 14 to 8 or 10.
Because parents and schools often introduce children to
computers at a very early age — sometimes before they can
even read or spell — the children often lack the gross motor
skills needed to use a joystick or keyboard. But most chil-
dren are able to point. By using light pens as extensions
of their fingers, young children can indicate answers even
if they cannot read or spell. Thus, time that would have
otherwise been spent laboriously locating numbers or let-
ters on the keyboard can instead be spent thinking about
and enjoying a program.
Obviously, the light pen is not appropriate for every pro-
gram or topic. But it does provide a friendly interface
between the user — especially the young user — and the
computer.
ATARI IMPLEMENTATION
The Atari computers use seven memory locations to con-
trol the light pen. Location 53277 sets up ("latches") the
pen. It must be cleared and reset prior to each reading.
Locations 53264-53267 specify
which joystick port is to be used by the
pen. Location 53264 indicates that it
is plugged into Port 1; location 53267
indicates Port 4. This location also
determines if the light pen is in use. (It
normally contains a one, but its value
is set to zero when the pen is placed
close to the screen).
Locations 564 and 565 contain the
horizontal and vertical positions of the
light pen. These values do not corre-
spond directly to the screen position
for any particular graphics mode, but
you can still think of the screen as a
coordinate plane.
HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL
POSITIONING
The light pen's horizontal position is linked to color clock
units. Because TV sets and monitors are subject to over-
scan, the left-hand edge of the screen is indicated by 76
in the horizontal-position register. As the pen moves across
the screen, the value in the horizontal register increases
until it reaches 224. The next color clock (to the right)
causes the horizontal-position register to be reset to zero.
If you continue to move to the right, the screen's right-
hand edge will be represented by 16 in the horizontal
register.
Vertical position is determined by counting scan lines
from the top of the screen to the pen's position. Again,
due to overscan, the top of the screen is represented by
16 in the vertical-position register; the bottom is repre-
sented by 11 1 . These values are independent of the graphics
mode being used, so it's necessary to scale the pen's
readings to match the correct screen positions for the
continued on page 32
30
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
A SOFTWARE
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11480 Sunset Hills Rd.
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Available at your local bookstore and computer retailer, or call us at
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MovieMaker™ brings the art of computer aninnation to your Atari
Home Computer®. And turns you into the director. No
programming is necessary, just imagination, flair and a desire to
experiment. MovieMaker'" is a powerful, innovative tool that lets
you devise the action, set the scene, create the actors and stage
the action. The "Compose" mode lets you draw characters and
background, with a special "Mirror" function for quick and easy
duplication of shapes. The "Zoom" lets you add incredible detail
for astounding realism. When you "Record," you film and edit up
to 300 frames of continuous action, controlling speed, sequence,
colors, camera angles and layers of sound. And the "Smooth"
function eliminates all flicker. The results are so professional, you'll
want to film one dream after another. And you can, without ever
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the best selling software from Creative Pastime".
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Coming soon for Apple,™ IBM-PC,™ Commodore 64'
For the Atari 800/ 1 200® Computer
Atari is a registered trademark of Atari, Inc.
education
LIGHT PEN DOODLE continued from page 30
graphics mode in use.
USING YOUR LIGHT PEN
To get an idea of how a light pen works, plug your pen
into joystick Port 1, then type in and run the following
program:
5 GRAPHICS 0
10 POKE 53277,():POKE 53277,4
20 PEN = PEEK(5 3264)
30 IF PEN = 1 THEN 10
40 H = PEEK(564):V=PEEK(565)
50 PRINT H,V
60 GOTO 10
Line 5 sets up Graphics Mode 0 so that the light pen's
positions can be easily displayed. Line 10 prepares the com-
puter for the pen. Line 20 checks to see if the pen has been
used. Line 30 sends control back to line 10 if it hasn't been
used. Line 40 gets the horizontal and vertical positions
from the appropriate memory locations. Line 50 prints
these values. Line 60 repeats the process until you press
[BREAK].
VARyiNG READINGS
As you run this demonstration program, you may notice
that successive readings can differ significantly. The degree
of variation depends for the most part on the quality of
your light pen. If it has an on/off switch, you have more
control over the readings. On the other hand, if your pen
is the basic, no-frills model (like ours), you must be very
careful when you point the pen. Otherwise, you're likely
to get a reading from the lamp above your TV screen.
However, even a good light pen may exhibit some degree
of scatter in the horizontal position. This position is deter-
mined by counting the color clocks. Because an inexpen-
sive pen has fewer parts, it tends to be inaccurate with
respect to horizontal positioning on the screen.
There are several ways to compensate for this. First, take
several readings. Then average them to determine the
horizontal position, or select the middle reading, or select
the most common value. You can also take successive pairs
of readings until the two readings fall within a given
tolerance. (Fortunately, vertical readings do not normally
exhibit similar discrepancies.)
LIGHT PEN DOODLE
Light Pen Doodle is a short program that demonstrates
some of the capabilities of even an inexpensive light pen.
When you run the program, a white screen divided into
a picture area and a coU^r-selection area is displayed. The
color-selection portion contains five rectangles. The four
rectangles on the left are used to select colors; the fifth
one erases the screen. This program is written in Graphics
Mode 7, which restricts us to the use of four colors.
Since our light pen does not have an on/off switch, we
use the keyboard to turn it on and off. Each time a key
is pressed, the value in location 764 changes. A value of
255 in this location indicates that a key has not been
pressed. Pressing the space bar changes the value in loca-
tion 764, and thus activates or deactivates the pen.
This feature works as follows. First, select a color by
pointing to one of the rectangles in the color-selection area.
Then point the pen at the picture area and press the space
bar to turn the pen on. To change colors, point the pen
away from the picture area and press the space bar to turn
it off. Select a new color, and then repeat the process.
TAKE-APART
Light Pen Doodle is shown in Listing 1. Its major segments
are explained below:
Lines 10-120: This subroutine determines the horizon-
tal and vertical positions of the light pen. These positions
are then corrected for the TV overscan and returned in
variables H and V. It isn't necessary to perform any addi-
tional scaling for Graphics Mode 7.
Lines 200-250: This subroutine determines which color
is used. Color selection is determined by the horizontal
position of the pen. If the clear-screen selection is made,
a flag is set to one.
Lines 1000-1180: This is the initialization portion of the
main program. It selects Graphics Mode 7, sets up the color
registers, and displays the picture and color-selection areas.
Lines 1190-1310: This is the main program loop used
to doodle. It selects colors, turns the pen on and off, and
displays points in the picture area. Frequent subroutine
calls are made to the routines at lines 10 and 200.
CONCLUSION
This completes our quick demonstration of how a simple
light pen works. 'We've found that there is currently a lack
of information about the techniques needed to interface
a light pen with an Atari computer; a certain amount of
trial and error will probably be required to make your pen
work in a particular application. A major part of the prob-
lem is that most of the inexpensive light pens on the market
toda)' were designed as input devices for multiple-choice
selection, rather than as high-resolution-graphics tools. But
recent advances in light pen technology should soon
change this situation for the better.
John and Mary Harrison are parents, teachers and Atari
hobbyists. Mary teaches math and computer science at
the high school level. John holds an M.S. in computer
science and develops educational softivare. They coordi-
nate the Education Department for ANTIC.
32
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
education
5
6
7
9
H
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
10
1 1
1 2
20
21
22
23
24
25
10
10
CO
10
10
85
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1
EN
1 2
1 2
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
1
L
3
3
40
50
55
56
60
70
80
90
00
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
EM LIGHT
EM BY JO
EM ANTIC
OTO 1000
POKE 532
PENOFF=P
IF PENOF
H1=PEEK(
IF H1<H2
IF H1<76
H=H1
IF H<17
H=H-7 6: I
V=PEEK(
IF V<0
RETURN
IF H<35
IF H<65
IF H<95
IF H<12
FLAG=1
RETURN
0 GRAPHI
0 SETCOL
OR 4,0,1
0 COLOR
1 PLOT 0
DRAWTO 0
0 FOR 1=
0 C0L=1
5 IF I <=
6 COLOR
0 PLOT I
0 DRAWTO
0 DRAWTO
0 IF I>3
0 POSITI
0 POKE 7
0 XIO 18
0 GOTO 1
0 DRAWTO
0 DRAWTO
0 NEXT I
0 PLOT 1
0 PLOT 1
POKE 7
1 190
0 GOSUB
0 IF V<8
0 GOSUB
5 IF PEE
6 POKE 7
0 IF FLA
0 GOSUB
0 IF V>8
0 PLOT H
0 IF PEE
PEN DOODLE
HN AND MARY HARRISON
MAGAZINE APRIL 1984
77,0: POKE 53277 ,4
EEK(53264)
F=1 THEN GOTO 10
564) : H2=PEEK(564)
-1 OR H1>H2+1 THEN 40
AND H1>16 THEN 40
THEN H=225+H
F H>159 THEN H=159
565)-16:IF V>95 THEN V=9 5
THEN V=0
THEN COLOR 1 : GOTO 250
THEN COLOR 2:G0T0 250
THEN COLOR 3:G0T0 250
5 THEN COLOR 4 : GOTO 250
CS 7+16
OR 0, 3,6:SETC0L0R 1 , 7,6:SET
4:SETC0LOR 2,12,6
1
,0:DRAWTO 159,0:DRAWTO 159,
,85:DRAWT0 0,0
1 TO 5
3 THEN COL=I
COL
* 3 0-5, 9 5
1*30-5,90
10+(I-1 )*30,90
THEN 1 140
ON 10+( I-l )*30,95
65,1
,#6,0,0,"S:"
160
1 0+( 1-1 ) *30, 95
1*30-5,95
35,95: DRAWTO 140,90
35,90: DRAWTO 140,95
64,255: IF PEEK( 764)<>255 TH
10
5 THEN 1200
2 0 0
K( 764)=255 THEN 1225
64 , 255
G=l THEN FLAG=0:GOTO 1000
1 0
5 THEN V=85
,V
K(764)<>255 THEN 1190
1290 GOSUB 1 0
1295 IF V>85 THEN
1300 DRAWTO H,V
1310 GOTO 1280
V=8 5
TYPO TABLE
Variable checksum = 144195
7'^'
f^f^fi
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April 1984
33
PUBUC
»!•
•MAIN
SOFTWARE
ANTIC GAMES DISK #2 I
1. Speed Demon; from ANTIC V.I, Nb.4
2. Guy' Grid Game,
3. Deathstan
'I. Blackjack:
5. Civil War: a'
6. Artillery: firl'
7. Super Wumpi
ANTIC GAMES DISK #3
1, Petals
8. Showdown
3. FROG; from
4. Draw; Guy
5. Plus Zero
ft, Coliisi, and
No.3
ANTIC UTILITY DISK *1
1 . Doc; program allows you to accom-
pany programs with separate documen-
tation on disk,
2. MIcroassembleriaJjpws you to create
USR routlnes-ass^mbl^f^nore
3. Assembler-Bailor: tM\ld slow but
versatile I ^^ J j
4. Num; autom4<|£<ifi«^^mberln3 utility
in BASIC ^^ —
5. Memtest: runs v^llteut BASIC
cartridge, to test a I n lemory
ismmm'nm
ANTIC GAMES DISK #4
IviiltiJres; from Swin-'
5 Castle Hexagon; also by Stari'Ockers
i Adventure; Tha-renMJnder of the disk
contains an ^9'^tfRM\'^^ program
.vhlch you cari IJ^^Sfau can use the
iirograin to wW*^OLH;<wn adventure.
Instructions inctwdsJUn program.
rANTIC UTILITY DISK *^
.Bubble Sort; From ANTIC V.I, No.4
.T/po; from ANTIC V.I, Na3
, Home inventory
, KEY 6; Clphe
, Renumber
. Compare; Unites for flif erenees
. SUPER; me^p,
. Modem
, RT clock
& mure
ANTIC VI , No.6,
ANTIC GAMES DISK «5
1. Bats; who else? Stan Ockers, ffj
ANTIC VI, No.5
2. Stellar Defense,
slightly Impravj
3. yahtzee
4. Mastermin-
5. Hamurabi; tiVcWSTp-'Slmulation
6. Slalom; becoime a master schusser
7. Couch; analyze ^o|/rself
8. Aceyducy & mo
ANTIC UTILITY DISK *3
1. Disassembler; from ANTIC V2, No.l
2. Tiny Text; from ANTIC vi, No,6
3. GTIA text wind;
No.l
4. Label: disk l|
5. Set up prin'
visicaic
6. Keyboard; tutor
I
ANTIC GRAPHICS
DEMO *1
1 . Spider: from ANTIC V1 , No.3
2. Rainbow
3. Horses
4. ATARI logo
5. Oxygen
6. Spiral
7. Pretty
8. Message and mbrl
ANTIC GR. & SO.
DEMO *1
ANTIC MUSIC DISK *1
Requires Music Composer Cartridge
1 Prelude
2. Joplln
3, In My Life
'4, Star Trek
9, Daisy
6, 6reensleeve^
7, Yellow Submarine. "and many more
^mk
/^nfiC is pleased to offer a library
of Public Domain Software for the
Atari computers currently comprised
of 12 disks. These prosrams are not
yet available on cassettes. These disl<s
contain unprotected material from
the libraries of Atari users' sroups
from around the country.
The potential buyer should note
that these prosrams are sold as is.
Their usefulness may depend on your
experience with the computer. They
may contain programming quirks that
require some modification. However,
all perform reasonably well. Contents
of the disks may vary slightly from the
published description due to unfor-
seen circumstances, but each disk is
filled to reasonable capacity with
useful programs of the kind de-
scribed. In most cases, there is no
documentation except that in the
program themselves. An excellent
value at $1 0.00 each, plus $1 .50 per
order for shipping/handling. Send
check or money order (payable to
ANTIC Publishing), and disk number(s)
to;
Public Domain Software
524 Second St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
Allow four weeks for delivery. All
orders are sent by First Class Mail.
California residents, please add bVi%
sales tax.
ANTIC presents these programs in
diskette form for the convenience of
theAtari community, in the belief that
all of the programs offered are in the
Public Domain and that no proprie-
tary interests or rights to these pro-
grams are claimed by anyone. These
diskettes are not copyprotected, nor
does ANTIC claim rights to the pro-
grams themselves. The price of the
diskettes is based on the cost of mak-
ing them available.
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
pilot/loso
SAFE SPAa
AND LARGE LETTERS
Logons Antics
by KEN HARMS
The secrets of Atari's Logo finally are
beginning to emerge! This month we'll
discuss two places where you can store
)()ur machine-language code and a
method that allows you to use Logc:) to
print large letters on the screen. "We'll
even be able to move turtles around on
a text screen! (B)' the way, both of these
topics were covered in direct response
to readers' requests — so if you want
it, ask for it!)
ABOUT LOGO
SYNOPSIS
This article explains where to locate
mach ine-lattgiiage programs when
using the Logo programming lan-
guage, and how to create text displays
with large letters. The j)rograni re-
quires the Logo cartridge from Atari,
and runs on all Atari conipnters.
interesting, note that nodespace
pointers are only one-byte long — the
"high" byte. The pointer at 14268
directs us to the start of the first bank
of nodespace, or the bottom of
memory. To get this decimal address,
type:
PR 256 * .EXAMINE 14268
First of all, Logo is not an "applications" language. That
is, it was designed to serve as an environment for experi-
mentation, rather than as a language for writing polished,
arcade-style game programs. It doesn't offer sophisticated
error-trapping capabilities, or easy access to the Atari's own
special capabilities. Atari did take special pains to produce
an impro\'ed Logo that is highl)' compatible with Apple
Logo. That's the good news. The bad news is that — as a
result — we Atari users often have to deal with the Apple's
poor design as we travel in Logo's world. Wouldn't you
love to have access to the Atari's full-screen editor in Logo?
Logo's memory is divided into two sections, one below
the graphics screen and one above it, because Apple does
it that way. As in all Logos, this memory, called "node-
space," is made up of five-byte units called nodes. This
space is used to store your program and to execute its pro-
cedures. To find its way around nodespace, Logo sets up
a scries of "pointers" that tell it where things are. Generally,
pointers are two bytes long, and are stored low byte first,
then high byte. (A byte is a character or a numerical \alue.)
FINDfNG A SAFE SPACE
Now we're ready to consider the best way to store machine-
language programs. But. just to make things more
Let's call this address STARTONE. END-
ONE, the end of the first bank, is
pointed to by the high-byte at 14271.
The two pointers for the second bank are STARTTWO at
14269 and ENDTWO at 14270.
Just as in BASIC, the best hiding place for machine code
is an area of memory that the language processor has "for-
gotten." So, just move up the bottom of memory by
.DEPOSITing a new value in 14268. Logo only stores page
addresses (a "page" is 256 bytes), so if you add one to the
value in STARTONE, memory moves 256 bytes. But — since
nodespace is made up of 5-byte nodes and five doesn't
divide into 256 evenly — it soon becomes apparent that
we have to move the bottom of memory in increments of
five pages each — or a whopping 1280 bytes! By the way,
the folks at LCSI have warned that memory should be
moved only when Logo is first booted.
If you don't need 1280 bytes and aren't planning to create
your own turtle shapes, a good storage area is the shape
table, which is ordinarily used to store the shapes you create
with the shape editor This table has 256 bytes and starts
at 13824. You can probably use the SETSH command se-
quence to install the code without a scries of .DEPOSITS.
PUTTING LARGE LETTERS ON THE SCREEN
Atari computers use several processors. The one we think
of as "the computer " is a 6502 microprocessor The Atari
continued on next page
April 1984
35
pilot/loso
uses another processor to handle the screen display so that
the 6502 can work as efficiently as possible. This is the
main reason that the Atari 800XL is more "powerful" than
the Apple He; Atari's special processor frees the 6502 to
make calculations more efficiently than the Apple can.
A PROCESSOR CALLED ANTIC
This special processor is called ANTIC, or the ANTIC chip.
ANTIC is actually a tiny computer. It needs a special pro-
gram, called a display list, to tell it how to display the data
that the 6502 processor puts into memory. Each of the dif-
ferent display modes is simply a different program for
ANTIC. So we can produce large letters by providing
ANTIC with a large-character display program. The one
I've chosen is known in BASIC as Graphics 2. Under Logo,
it displays 12 lines of 20 characters in four colors.
BUILDING A SPECIAL DISPLAY LIST
Using the listing as our road map, let's build a special display
list for Logo. Chris Mitchell, a computer hobbyist, musi-
cian and colleague of mine who lives in Seattle, came up
with the idea of using the screen buffer as a text screen.
This allows us to display both the turtle and text at the same
time! As a result, you can use a specially-shaped turtle as
a pointer to highlight words or make the regular turtle
dance around the title of your program. (Unfortunately,
however, if you try to draw with the turtle either your draw-
ing will not appear, or it will display weird characters. Sorry
about that!)
To set up, we first call a Full Screen, followed by a Hide
Turtle (leave this out if you want the turtle to appear on
the screen) and a Clear Screen. The last step ensures that
we won't display an old drawing.
ANTIC looks for a display list (its program) at the
memory address pointed to by the two-byte pointer at 5 60
and 561 . The second line takes those values and uses them
to start building a new display list. Generally, the first three
values in the list are 112's, which tell ANTIC to display blank
lines (these allow for TV pictures that aren't quite right).
The next instruction, a 71, tells ANTIC that we're going
to display Graphics 2 characters.
The next two values, 17 and 59, make up a two-byte
pointer to the data that ANTIC will display. At this point,
things get a bit tricky. Logo uses a two-byte pointer at 14272
and 14273 to find the start of the screen buffer that we
use for our data. The buffer is 960 bytes long. But we're
using only 240 bytes (12 lines of 20 bytes). As a result, if
we start at the beginning of the buffer we'll encounter 36
blank lines before seeing anything on the screen. Because
of this, we simply skip 720 bytes to the 240 bytes we need.
If you're using a 64K system, use 209 and 66 instead of
17 and 59.
The next 11 pieces of data in the list are sevens. These tell
ANTIC to "display this line as large letters." Next, we send
ANTIC a 65 to tell it that we're finished. Finally, ANTIC
needs the address of the next program, or display list. In
this case, we simply use the values for the same display
list, since we want ANTIC to jump back to the beginning
and do it again.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I hope that at this point you'll be off and running with these
special displays for your Logo programs. Further informa-
tion on display lists can be found in a series of articles in
ANTIC by Allan Moose and Marian Lorenz (Display Lists
Simplified, page 33, February/March 1983; Start Interrupt-
ing, page 24, June 1983; More Interrupting, page 54,
December 1983). If there's enough interest, I'll cover pro-
cedures for other special displays in future columns. By
the way, when you exit these special modes, use a TS (text
screen) and a CT (clear text) to get everything back to
normal.
Ken Harms, our Contributing Editor for the Logo/PILOT
department, is Vice President of Administration for the
California Division of the American Cancer Society.
TO M0DE2
FS HT CS
MAKE "START ( ( ( .EXAMINE 561 ) * 256
) + .EXAMINE 560 )
REPEAT 3 [.DEPOSIT :START 112 MAKE "ST
ART ( :START + 1 ) ]
.DEPOSIT .-START 71 MAKE "START ( .STAR
T + 1 )
.DEPOSIT :START 17 MAKE "START ( :STAR
T + 1 )
.DEPOSIT :START 59 MAKE "START ( :STAR
T + 1 )
REPEAT 11 [.DEPOSIT :START 7 MAKE "STA
RT ( : START + 1 ) j
.DEPOSIT :START 65 MAKE "START ( :STAR
T + 1 )
.DEPOSIT
"START (
.DEPOSIT
END
START ( .EXAMINE 560 )
START + 1 )
START ( .EXAMINE 561 )
MAKE
□
36
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
i profiles
JOHN VICTOR,
COMPUTER
EDUCATOR
Education has been a major factor in
the life of John Victor and in the life
of the company he founded in 1978,
Program Design, Inc. (PDI). A gradu-
ate of Michigan State University,
where he earned a B. S. degree in psy-
chology, Victor did graduate work in
educational psychology at Michigan
State and worked toward an MBA at
City University of New York.
He began his career as a designer
of programmed instructional materi-
als at Resources Development in East
Lansing, Michigan. Then, in 1967, he
moved to New York City to work as
an editor and consultant for Grolier
Educational Corp., a major pub-
lisher of reference books and encyclo-
paedias.
Victor has also developed course-
ware for the American Mananage-
ment Association, the National Pest
Control Association, and the U.S.
Army. He has written a book that ex-
plains how to take the SAT (published
by the Associated Press) and numer-
ous articles on computer-related
subjects.
In 1976, Victor formed a company
to publish computer-education prod-
ucts. Two years later, the company
was incorporated as Program De-
sign, Inc. PDI was the first educa-
tional software producer in the home
computer field, and has a number of
firsts in that field. Its product line of
more than 40 titles consists of four
types of home computer software: pre-
by CHRISTOPHER RAUBER
Assistant Editor
John Victor, president and CEO of Prosram Design, Inc.
school games and interactive story-
books, computer tutorials and
courseware, educational games, and
arcade games.
The following interview with John
Victor, president and CEO of PDI, was
conducted at the Winter Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas,
Nevada, on January 7, 1984, by
ANTIC Assistant Editor Christopher
Rauber.
continued on pase 40
April 1984
37
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3-D ANIMATION FOUR VOICE SOUNDTRACK
BY PHIUP PRICE BY GARY GILBERTSON
FOR
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289 SO. SAN ANTONIO ROAD
LOS ALTOS, CA 94022
ASK FOR ALTERNATE REALITY AT YOQR SOFTWARE RETAILER
profiles
continued from page 37
ANTIC: What products of interest to
Atari computer owners will your com-
pany introduce here at the CES?
VICTOR: Basically, we are winding up
a series of products we started a few
years ago — the Interactive Story
Books. These are programs with
human voices that teach certain con-
cepts to preschool and younger school
children. The top end of this series is
a product called Robin's Halloween
that teaches words by sight recogni-
tion. Robin is a little girl who encoun-
ters some creatures from outer space.
As the child listens and watches, he or
she has to pick words to help Robin
move from one part of the story to
another
We have another product called
Penny's Balloon that is also a
reading/writing program. Those com-
plete our Interactive Story Book Hne.
We also have some other products
here, including a program called Pic-
ture Blocks, which is a computerized
jigsaw puzzle, and Giant's Tooth, a
logic program that puts objects into
categories.
But we're shifting the focus of our
products right now from education/
entertainment to more serious, con-
tent-oriented educational products.
We're coming out with a French course
for the Atari, and one on algebra, and
we're working on the Montana Read-
ing Program . . .
The industry, at this point, seems to
be in transition. We're shifting from the
hobbyists to mass consumers. These
groups have different needs and dif-
ferent ideas about what constitutes
good educational software. We're try-
ing to appeal to the mass consumers.
We think they are less familiar with the
computer, less likely to be impressed
by graphics, more likely to be im-
pressed with content.
A: What is the focus of ) our company,
and how have you evolved over the last
five years?
V: Good question. This is our transi-
tion year. We started this business in
1978 with very definite ideas about
what constituted good educational
products. Unfortunately, I think we
were overly influenced by what other
people were doing in the industry.
They were interested in show biz and
gimmicks, and we got ourselves tied
up in that too much. We didn't forget
our initial ideas, but we got caught up
with games and show biz, and lost
sight of what good educational soft-
ware really should be doing. This year
we're going back to serious education,
particularly because we think that's
what the mass market wants, and
those are the people we want to sell.
A: How would Clipper Around the
Horn fit in with this? Is it part of the
transition phase?
V: No, that's part of our show-biz
phase. Although it is a good intellec-
tual game, it really isn't a mass con-
sumer item like the Montana Reading
Program, or our tutorial on how to
program. Those are more serious edu-
cational programs.
A: So you're moving towards the hard-
core educational market?
V: Right, but for the home consumer
A: You recently completed a survey on
computer-assisted teaching for pre-
school children. Do you have any
comments on the results of that
research?
V: Yes. We think it was unusual and
valuable, because people in this indus-
try do very little research to see what
the effects of software are. They may
test it to see if it holds interest or
operates correctly, but they never test
to see what the software produces.
Our survey indicated some surpris-
ing things. First, we found that most
"preschool" software is really de-
signed for eight-year-olds. We found
that the level the industry thinks a typ-
ical four-year-old is at is nowhere near
the actual level. The second thing we
found out was that our preschool
products were very effective at teach-
ing, and not for the reasons that the
industry usually believes. We found
that kids were less interested in
graphics, and more interested in being
able to control whatever it is that's on
the screen.
That's an important discovery for
us, but unfortunately you've got to be
able to sell it to adults, and adults don't
necessarily like crude graphics. Kids
don't seem to care one way or the
other, but they like the idea of having
something they can control on the
screen. We believe that a lot more re-
search has to be done by the industry
on its products. And that includes
games. I really don't think the game
developers understand the man-
machine relationship. They know
what the computer does, but they
aren't cjuite up on the relationship be-
tween the person and the machine.
That goes for all kinds of software.
A: Why is computer-assisted educa-
tion more effective than traditional
methods, and how can parents help
this process along?
V: There are five elements that have to
be there for learning to take place.
First, the learner must interact with the
material to be learned. People seldom
interact in the classroom. They sit and
get stuff laid on them. With the com-
puter, you interact. Second, you need
feedback on how well, or poorl)', you
are doing. With a textbook, you don't
get any feedback; in class, you get
some. But a computer is an excellent
feedback mechanism. Third is motiva-
tion. There has to be a reason to do the
learning. Sometimes it's enough just to
learn, to be right. Sometimes you need
a little extra. Traditional education
seems to be very negative; it's what
you do wrong that is noticed. Com-
puter programs don't do that nearly as
much as traditional classroom
teachers. Fourth, the subject matter
needs to be presented with continui-
ty. You learn one thing and build on
that. Computers don't guarantee con-
continued on next page
April 1984
41
profiles
imammmimm
tinuity, but they facilitate it. Finally,
control. The more the learner controls
the learning situation, the stronger the
learning.
A: It seems that educational software
tends to the extremes of being too
game oriented or too deadly serious.
Do you think you can find a happy
medium in your new products?
V: There is a meeting point, and I don't
know where it is. However, if you test
your software, you can discover what
it takes to keep people's interest. The
industry assumes that certain things
will be interesting to kids that really
aren't. Kids will work on drill and
practice and not be as bored as adults
think they will be. 'Very young children
have a high tolerance for repetition.
They'll drive you crazy, listening to the
same thing over and over and over
Young kids love repetition. And you've
got to direct your software to the end
user. If a three-year-old wants repeti-
tion, put it in. Don't design preschool
products for adults.
A: That ties in with the distinction be-
tween education and learning that was
made recently by James Morgan, chair-
man of Atari. He said that "education
is something that is done to you; learn-
ing is something you do for yourself."
V: If a learner feels that something's
being done to him or her, it destroys
the learning process. Learning is phys-
iological. There are chemical changes
taking place in the brain. If the learner
isn't ready to learn, learning isn't going
to take place. And the best way to make
sure that the learner is ready to learn
is to put the learner in control. In tradi-
tional education, the learner is rarely
in control. Children are forced to learn
when they're not ready to learn.
"What is learning? It is the ability of
an organism to do something after
going through an experience (for
example, a program) that it couldn't do
before the experience. If you want to
evaluate the effect of a program, you
find out what the student can do after
using the program that he couldn't do
before.
A: What specific skills are your pro-
grams designed to teach, and which
ones can you measure after the pro-
gram has been used?
V: Okay, let's talk about preschoolers,
on whom we just did this study. Our
preschool program teaches basic
cognitive skills related to reading readi-
ness. Now, what is that? It includes the
ability to look at two pictures and see
if they are the same or different; to see
four objects and pick the one that
doesn't belong with the others; to
recognize letters of the alphabet — not
necessarily by name — but to distin-
guish them from other marks and from
each other. We might include some
shape and sound recognition. These
are the skills that tests of reading readi-
ness usually measure, and these are the
ones that we develop. That's how we
accomplished the 48 percent improve-
ment rate for our kids on the standard-
ized tests.
A: I.ct's move from software to the
area of your company's growth. In
1983, PDI reported a 40 percent in-
crease in sales over 1982. How do sales
look for 1984, especially in the Atari
segment of your market?
V: Our 1983 figures were affected by
Atari's problems, and its failure to get
the new computers to the market as ex-
pected, but we think 1984 is going to
be much better. I think we can experi-
ence a 100 percent growth in sales this
year
A: What do you see as the growth rate
for educational programs in general
over the next few years?
V: Atari is a very strong educational
machine. The mass merchandisers
report that 20 percent of all the soft-
ware they sell is educational. That's a
big increase in educational software
sales over previous years. For Atari, I
think the educational opportunities
are extremely good. It's an affordable
machine with superior capabilities. A
lot of publishers see it as a panacea,
especially those whose game market
is softening. They think educational
software is going to bail them out. It
may not, but we're going to see a lot
of action around the Atari.
A: Tell us about your product develop-
ment program. How do you decide
what products you're going to make?
V: We ask our distributors what kind
of products the consumers are asking
for We look at these interests to sec if
we can devise a legitimate educational
package within the price range that the
distributors want. Sometimes it's ridic-
ulous — they want a course on how
to use your computer and they want
to sell it for S14.95. There's no way a
software publisher could make money
on such a product. But, given the reali-
ties of the restrictions on software
development, that's the way we do it.
A: How do you get your software
authors?
V: Every way you can imagine. It's a
problem for us, because developing
educational software is a particular
kind of skill. We ha\'e some very good
outside authors, but in the future I
think we're going to try to get teams
of writers and educational designers
and programmers together, and to do
it that wa)'. It's too hard to get program-
mer/educators, as we have done in the
past.
A: You've been in the educational field
for some 20 years. How has that
experience affected PDl and its
products?
V: My experience dates back to the
1960's when I worked on developing
programmed instruction. A lot of what
we learned then is totally unknown to
the people designing computerized
educational products today. I don't
know why, but they're just not familiar
with the research and products that
came out in the 1960's. I'm trying to
bring that experience to bear on the
products we're designing at PDI today.
There's a tjuote going around that
applies to the whole software indus-
try: "Never have so many based so
much on so little." It's amazing how
42
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
profiles
much stuff people have said about edu-
cation, and how little evidence they
have to back it up.
For example, Logo. It's reported to
be a fantastic educational program-
ming language. Who says? The people
who developed Logo never did any re-
search to back that up. I have never
seen a single study showing that Logo
is a better teaching language than
BASIC. But they sold the industry on
it. I can't figure out how or why that
ever came about. They should have
had to demonstrate that the language
had the qualities attributed to it.
A: Do you see any solution to this
problem of a lack of research?
V: Yeah, do research!
A: Do you think the developers
should do the research?
V: Sure. Seymour Papert could have
done it for Logo. Take two classrooms.
One gets Logo, one gets BASIC. Six
months later, test them. Find out
which group developed the best pro-
gramming skills, the best style — if
that's the point he was trying to make.
There were lots of things that could
have been evaluated. But they just gave
Logo to a bunch of kids, and after a
while they asked them how they liked
it. "Gee, it's terrific!" That's not scien-
tific. I wouldn't have accepted that
conclusion. Still, Logo is used in a lot
of schools. They have a big base on
which to draw research information,
and they're just not doing it.
A: Does PDI plan to do research in the
future?
V: Yes. And we're going with tested
and developed stuff. The Montana
Reading Program was fully tested at the
LIniversity of Montana. It was com-
pared to the best traditional reading
methods. The kids in the computer-
ized Montana program did 22 percent
better — pre-test to post-test — than
the ones who used the traditional
method.
A: Adequate documentation is a prob-
lem in the industry in general and the
home market in particular What is PDI
doing to make sure that documenta-
tion is comprehensive and under-
standable enough for the home user?
V: Here's a controversial statement:
"The best documentation is no docu-
mentation." Nobody reads it. A prod-
uct should be self-documenting. I'll
give you an example. I use Letter
Perfect as a word processor Why?
Schools are the worst. Schools are
such pirates that they have eliminated
themselves as appropriate markets for
educational software. How do you
combat it? I don't think disk protec-
tion gives you a whole hell of a lot. Any
scheme yet devised can be broken. But
there are ways to market products that
are tough to steal. We make kits. It's
We think 1984 is soing to be much
better than 1983. I thinl< we can expect
a 100 percent growth in sales this year.
Because I don't have to read the book.
I can sit right down and start word
processing. All its features are built-in
Atari features. I tried that with the first
Atari Word Processor (not Atari-
Writer) and after five minutes I
chucked it. I didn't want to read that
giant manual, and nothing was natural.
I think that 90 percent of the people
who use software react like I did.
Business software is different; you
have to have well-developed docu-
mentation. But games should be self-
documenting.
A: So you're going to move away from
documentation?
V: Oh, we'll have documentation; the
reviewers pan you if you don't. But if
you can't use a product without
reading the documentation, I don't
think it's a good product.
A: Do you have any comments on the
issue of protecting software from
infringement?
V: Tough issue. My guess is that the
mass market consumer is the least
likely software thief. I don't think our
company needs to worry too much
about that. The computer hobbyist is
also much maligned; oh, there are
some who are just out-and-out thieves,
but in the Atari market it's not a major
concern. I think the major problem is
what I call "institutional piracy."
tough to steal a kit. You have to copy
disks, cassettes, books, etc. It gets to
be so much trouble that you might as
well buy it.
A: What do you think makes PDI
unique? What do you offer that other
companies don't?
V: For one thing, we were the first in
our area, and we've been imitated. This
industry loves to play follow the
leader Whether many people know us
or not, there are certainly many devel-
opment houses that have copied the
kinds of things we do. We did the Inter-
active Story Book, the sound-and-
picture presentation that follows a
story line. We did the first SAT prepara-
tion program. We did the first "How
to Program" tutorial, and we haven't
been copied on that; it's a very hard
thing to imitate and do well.
But, in general, we've been the first,
and then other people have come in
. . We have been innovators, and
other people have copied us.
A: Any special characteristics that
your programs have that you would
like to talk about?
V: The most important thing with us
is human interaction and learning. We
have tied our future to Atari in a big
way. We've made a big commitment
there, and as Atari goes, so we go.
m
April 1984
43
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(213) 804-1475
44
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
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46
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
av
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April 1984
47
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48
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
© CoDyright, ComouClub 1983. All rights reserved.
Atari is a registered trademark ofWaryier Cotmnunicatiotis, Inc.
THE GREATEST
AIARI'GAME
OFALLTML
Object: Capture more programs than
from any other source.
Score: The best prices for programs win.
Actually, every member of
I CompuClub is a winner, because
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Atari® programs than our members.
And no other source offers as many
programs, with a descriptive catalog cov-
ering every piece of software we offer!
CompuClub has hundreds of Atari®
programs: games, education and busi-
ness. It's an astonishing selection, but just
as incredible are our prices and our
catalog.
Prices always at least
25% below retail
Fact is, usually our prices on selected
programs are even lower than that. And
we're always running sales with savings of
at least 50 % from the list price on some
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And there are several ways to pay:
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Annotated catalog,
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We don't like to knock the competi-
tion, even by implication, but there are
definite advantages to a CompuClub
membership. One of the best of them is
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includes a description of each and every
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In fact, the catalog is so big and filled
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authorization for your charge.
M
ost of US have seen games
that use Player/Missile
graphics (PMG). This
sophisticated graphics
system, built into all Atari computers,
allows you to create and animate small
figures, and to move them across the
screen without disturbing the back-
ground.
However, PMG have useful applica-
tions other than games. For instance,
there are many data-processing pro-
grams that use only the text screen of
Graphics 0. You can spice up such a
program with color very easily using
PMG. The following program listing
shows you how to accomplish this
without resorting to the use of display-
list interrupts or other fancy tech-
niques.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Line 5 turns off the cursor. To turn it
back on, POKE 752,0. Line 7 passes
SYNOPSIS
This article explains hotv to use
Plciycr/.Missile graphics in non-staii-
clard irays. The accompanying pro-
gram rnns on all Atari compnters.
IC)K RAM and BASIC are required.
control to a subroutine that starts at
line 500. Line 500 POKEs a number in-
to memory location 623, which is
known as GPRIOR, or the priority-
selection register. Priority, in PMG
parlance, refers to which image ap-
pears (has priority) when two or more
images occupy the same area of the
screen. By POKEing a one into
GPRIOR, we tell the Atari to display all
players in front of all playfields. A
"player" is a graphic image created
with PMG; "playfield" refers to a
screen image created by means other
than PMCi.
GPRIOR also enables us to combine
four missiles, or two-bit-wide players,
into a fifth player. We accomplish this
by adding 16 to the number POKEd in-
to GPRIOR.
QUADRUPLE WIDTH
Line 505 sets all players to quadruple
width (32 bits) by POKEing each
player-width register with three. We
use quadruple width to highlight a
large area of the screen. Line 507 does
the same thing with the missiles.
Lines 5 10 through 518 set all players
to the same color. By doing this and
positioning the players side by side, we
can cover the entire screen with what
appears to be a single giant player.
Line 560 makes player 0 (the first
player) into a solid column that runs
the height of the screen by POKEing
location 53261 with 255. Binary for
255 is II I mil, so the player appears
to be a solid bar Experiment with this
50
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
effect by POKEing different numbers
into location 53261. This is the only
way you can define an entire player
with one byte. For instance, POKE
53261,129 to create a player that looks
like two vertical stripes. Lines 570
through 582 do the same thing for the
other players.
That's all there is to this simplified
PMG setup. Note that you don't have
to worry about things like Player/Mis-
sile data structure, or where to reserve
memory for the data. When you want
to simply add color to a text or
graphics screen, this simple system is
probably the best.
MULTICOLORED PLAYERS
Line 292 shows you how to use
GPRIOR (location 623) to create multi-
colored players. To implement this,
POKE 623,PEEK(623)+32. Now,
when you overlap two players, a third
color appears in the area of overlap.
This is how arcade-game designers
create multicolored players.
The program that accotnpanies this
article is reprinted from Philip Seyer's
Atari Player Missile Graphics, Reston
Publishing Co. (1984), Reston, VA,
(703) 43 7-8900. Philip Se)>er writes on
educational topics, and is currently
tvorking full-time on Atari books and
programs.
1
2
3
4
5
7
H
20
25
30
32
33
35
REM GRAPHICS 0 P/M
REM BY PHILIP C. SEVER
REM ANTIC MAGAZINE APRIL
? CHR$( 125) : REM
POKE 752,1: REM
GOSUB 500:REM
POSITION 2,10
1984
CLEAR SCREEN
TURN OFF CURSOR
SIMPLIFIED PMG SETUP
? ■■ I n
using'
this example
? 'we are NOT
? 'the ANTIC cli I p 0 r"
? "Direct Memory Access'
? "to f e t cli Players "
? "or Missiles \^
GOSUB 900: REM
Wait for user to pros
36
40
42
44
46
50
? CHR$ ( 1 25 ) : REM
CLEAR SCREEN
POSITION
POSITION
POSITION
POSITION
24
24
2 4
24
9:
10
11
12
DELAY=300: GOSUB 700
Not ice
'it is
"Color to
"Graphics
REM
how easy"
to add ""
Mode 0
PAUSE FOR A
60 POSITION 24,16:? "Like this!"":DELAY
=50:GOSUB 700
62 POKE 53248 ,176: POKE 5 3 2 4 9 , 1 4 4 : R EM Q
UT PLAYERS ON SCREEN
65
70
80
81
:G
85
04
DEL AY=1 00 : GOSUB
POSITION 24,18:
POSITION 24,19:
POSITION 24,20:
OSUB 700
FOR 1=0 TO 254
I : POKE
Its also easy"
to change that"
color.": DELAY=200
STEP
1 0:X=5a3
REM
POKE
90
10
10
10
10
10
10
1 1
2,3
POKE 704, 80:
GOSUB 700
? CHR$( 1 25)
? "• And I t " s
? "go back
? "" p I a y f i e I d
GOSUB 900
POKE 53248,0: POKE 53249.0:HEM li'iliH J
POSITION
easy to""
to the r e g u I
color.""
a r"
PLAYERS OFF SCREEN
115 GOSUB 700
117 ? CHR$ ( 1 25 ) : ? : ? : POSITION
120 ? "You can also fill"
125 ? "the entire screen"'
130 ? "With all 5 players."
135 DELAY=400 : GOSUB 700
2,3
MOVE ALL 5 PLAYERS
140 ? : ? "Like s 0 : "" : X=Xa3
150 GOSUB 1 000 : REM
ONTO SCREEN
230 GOSUB 700:? C H R $ ( 1 2 5 ) : P 0 S I T I 0 N 2,3
232 ? "The playfield is now hiding"
2 34 ? ""liHilliliWIiMiUmil"" :
235 DELAY=250 :G0SUB 700
236 ? "'Now I'll put it In IMIHI
238 ? "Of the players."
239 DELAY = 1 00 : GOSUB 700:POKE 623,4-1-16
240 DELAY=500 :GOSUB 700:? CHR$(125):P0
SITION 2,10:? -Next, when you press a
key,""
241 ? "" I" I I shrink the playfield"
242 ? "for a moment by poking ":? "Loc
atlon 559 with 33."
243 GOSUB 900:? C H R $ ( 1 25 ) : P 0 K E 559,1-^3
2:DELAY=200:GOSUB 700:POKE 559,2-^32
244 ? :? :? "Next, lets set each play
e r""
245 ? "to a different color.""
246 GOSUB 900:POKE 559,2-^32
247 POKE 704,16:POKE 705,64:POKE 706,9
6 : POKE 707 , 144 : POKE 711,192: REM
AYERS TO DIFFERENT COLORS
248 ? CHR$(125): GOSUB 700
250 POSITION 2,3:? "Notice that player
s ""
252 ? "0-3 are [Q^Qi] the playfield'"
2 54 ? "but Player 4 (at right)"
255 ? "is in front of the playfield.""
260 GOSUB 900
2 6 5 ? C H R $(125 ):POKE 623,4-i-16:REM
PRIORITIES AND ENABLE 5TH PLAYER
270 POSITION 2,3:? "As you can see, PI
a y e r 4"
272 ? "(the one made up of missiles)"
274 ? 'always displays in front of"
276 ? "all playflelds."":GOSUB 900:? CH
R$ ( 1 25 ): POSITION 2,3
277 ? "Lets get rid of the ":? "playf
ield again. ":GOSUB 900:? CHR$(125):P0K
E 623 , 1 + 1 6 : POSITION 2,9
278 ? " Playfield now hiding. ":GOSUB
9 0 0
280 ? CHR$( 1 25) : POKE 6 2 3 , 4+ 1 6 : P 0 S I T I 0 N
2,3
continued on next pase
April 1984
51
282 ? "In conclusion, here's an"
283 ? 'example of how you can"
284 ? "overlap players to create"
286 ? "a multicolored object."
290 GOSUB 900: ? CHR$( 125)
292 POKE 623, 1+16+32: REM
ENABLE 5TH PLAYER, CREATE MULTICOLORED
OBJECT WHEN PLAYERS OVERLAP
SET PLAYERS 0 AND 1 TO OVERLAP
PLAYER 0
OVERLAP
MOVE OFF SCREEN
299
300
310
320
350
360
370
380
390
400
410
420
425
430
432
434
436
438
440
499
H EM
POKE
POKE
POKE
POKE
POKE
POKE
POKE
POKE
3 J ^4 0
53249
53250
53251
53252
53253
53254
53255
48 : R EM
48+1 6:REM
0: REM
POSITION 18,10:? "The three colors
POSITION
POSITION
POSITION
POSITION
POSITION
POSITION
POSITION
POSITION
POSITION
GOTO 499
18
18
18
18
18
18
18
18,
18
1 1
12
1
1
1
1
18
19
22
at left
produced
Players
You can
same i d e
make a m
colored
s p a c e c r a
were
by
0 &
use
a t 0
u I t i
f I y I
f t I"
1 .'■
t he'
ng"
END OF PROGRAM
THIS ONE'S A
KEEPER.
Unlike games that get
''staled you'll USE this
program-- again & again
for pears to come.
There's nothing else like
DECISIONS . . . DECISIONS'"
A TOOL FOR MAKING LOGICAL CHOICES.
Combines scientific decision-mailing principles
with your computer's power, to shine new light
on business, personal, and family decisions.
"EASILY SORT OUT CONFUSING INFORMATION.
"REMOVE UNCERTAINTY FROM DIFFICULT CHOICES.
"CLARIFY AND QUANTIFY YOUR IDEAS.
"SHOW OFF YOUR COMPUTER'S PRACTICAL SIDE!
Leads you step by step through any problem ;
analyzes your choices with swift computer
accuracy; displays the results in easy to
interpret graphic form, on your TV screen.
DECISIONS.. .DECISIONS program disk for 48K ATARI
artd complete reference manual, in handsome binder,
only $37.50 including shipping, add $2.25 tax in Calif.
ORDER MOW-youll be glad you did. Send check to:
D*i>t. 2 A
^ f.Q. Box SOS
Stinteii, CA 90990
1
^\\ LATERAL
500 POKE 623, 1 + 16: REM
DISPLAY PLAYERS
IN FRONT OF PLAYFIELD, ENABLE 5TH PLAY
m
505 POKE 53256, 3:P0KE 53257, 3:P0KE 532
58,3:P0KE 53259, 3:flEM
»«illHil!lllJlM','lliHn
507 POKE 53260,192+48+12+3
SET ALL PLAYERS
REM
MISSILES TO OUARUPLE VI/IDTH
SET PLAYER 0 COLOR
PLAYER 1 COLOR
PLAYER 2 COLOR
PLAYER 3 COLOR
PLAYER 4 COLOR
POKE DATA DIRECTLY INTO THE T
HE PLAYER GRAPHIC REGISTERS
IMAGE FOR PLAYE
560
[Q
570
575
580
582
699
700
710
800
5 : R
810
900
0 C
91 0
920
999
100
101
102
103
1 04
1 05
106
107
1 08
POKE 53261 , 255:REM
DELAY:NEXT I
POKE 53262, 255: REM
POKE 53263, 255:REM
POKE 53264, 255:REM
POKE 53265, 255 :REM
RETURN
FOB 1=1 TO
RETURN
IF PEEK( 764)<>255
ETURN
GOTO 800
POSITION 2,22:? "TAP
ONTINUE " :GOSUR 800
POSITION 2,21:? "
PLAYER1
PLAYER 2
PLAYER 3
'player 4'
THEN POKE 764,25
ANY KEY"
RETURN
REM
I POKE
I POKE
I POKE
I POKE
I POKE
i POKE
I POKE
I POKE
MOVE ALL PLAYERS ON SCREEN
HOR . POS .
53248
53249
53250
53251
53252
53253
53254
53255
0 RETURN
48 : REM
48 + 32
48+2*32
48+3*32
48+4*32
48+(4*32 )+8
48+(4*32 )+l 6
48+(4*32)+24
TYPO TABLE
Va
r I a b I
Line
1
35
81
1 20
239
248
278
350
436
51 6
81 0
1070
e checksum
n urn range
- 33
1 7
38
47
77
20
34
14
00
- 1060
78267
Code
UH
LH
EK
AB
QQ
KV
LX
PN
NG
XX
AO
VO
Length
345
505
472
373
565
573
518
381
530
386
439
53
□
\>^ SOFTWARE
52
ANTIC, The ATARI Resource
/'J
C-TOE
An introduction to artificfSHniemsenc?
his program is an experiment
in artificial intelligence. It's de-
signed to simulate learning, the
mysterious process of discover-
ing the correct and incorrect resj'yonscs
to a given situation. It will teach your
Atari computer to play the ancient and
noble game of tic-tac-toe. Your Atari
will improve as it plays, until it will
seem to be unbeatable. And believe me,
it's an uncanny experience to watch
your computer get better at the game
with practice — it's almost as if the
machine were developing a person-
alii\' of its own.
SYNOPSIS
This program serves as an introduc-
tion to the fundamentals of artificial
intelligence. The program requires
ISKfor cassette and 24K with a disk
system, and runs on all Atari
computers.
MENACING ORIGINS
This program is based on origi'
research performed in 1960 by an
English biologist named Donald
Michie. Michie used 300 matchboxes
by JOSEPH HAFNER
ads of nine different colors to
is Matchbox Educable Naughts
rosses Engine (MENACE). Each
.7^Vof the matchboxes had a unique tic-tac-
toe pattern on its cover. Each colored
bead represented one of the nine
possible moves, or squares, in the tic-
tac-toe grid. (As you know, in
ipe there are a number of different
:gal moves that can be made in any
en situation — and some moves are
fetter than others.)
At the start of the experiment, he
placed an equal number of colored
continued on next pase
April 1984
53
beads for each legal move into each
matchbox. Because beads were re-
moved from the matchboxes as the
game progressed, more beads of each
color were available for early moves
than for later ones. When it was the
matchboxes' turn to "play," Michie
would locate the matchbox whose pat-
tern matched the existing game board.
He would then shake the box and
remove a colored bead. This pro-
cedure was intended to result in a ran-
dom choice.
"TEACHING" A MATCHBOX
The color of the selected bead indi-
cated what move the matchboxes
"wanted" to make. The beads selected
by this process were then saved until
the end of the game. At that point, one
of three things would happen. If the
matchboxes had won the game, three
beads of a chosen bead's color would
be added to each matchbox from
which a bead had been taken. If Michie
won, the saved beads were perma-
nently removed from their match-
boxes. This "punished" the match-
boxes for making bad moves. If a game
ended in a draw, all beads were re-
turned to their original places. In this
way, MENACE tended to punish or
cancel bad moves and to strongly re-
inforce good moves.
A COMPUTER VERSION
In Listing 1, the matchboxes in Michie's
experiment are represented by the
string MCHBOXS. Each "matchbox"
takes up 19 bytes of the string.
The first nine bytes are used to store
possible tic-tac-toe patterns. The next
nine bytes store counters that represent
menace's colored beads. The last byte
represents the chosen bead (by means
of an index that points to the chosen
counter).
The game board itself is stored in the
BOARDS string. Actually, eight boards
are stored here. This was done because
almost all of the board patterns have
a number of mirror images. These are
identical to the original pattern, except
that the board is "rotated" into dif-
ferent positions (or mirror images). If
mirror imaging were not taken into ac-
count, over 4500 possible patterns
would have to be stored by the pro-
gram, and the game's playing time
would be prohibitively long. The ALT
array shows how the game boards are
rotated to accommodate the mirror-
image representations.)
LEAVE IT TO THE COMPUTER
If you examine my program carefully,
you'll notice that some of the 300 pos-
sible tic-tac-toe patterns are missing.
Instead of including all possible pat-
terns in the program, I decided to let
the computer determine if a pattern is
a new one. When it comes across a
new pattern, it stores it in the
MCHBOXS array The machine actu-
ally "learns" to recognize new patterns
when they are presented. This part of
the program is handled in lines 1250
through 1460. Let's examine these
lines more closely.
LOOKING AT THE
LEARNING CODE
Line 1250 checks to see ifa move is the
last move of the game; in this case,
only one move is possible. This move
is found in lines 1260 and 1270.
Line 1280 starts the search to find
a matchbox that corresponds to the
current board pattern. If a match is
found, a jump to line 1380 is made, and
the process of randomly choosing a
move begins. Otherwise, a new pattern
is added to the MCHBOXS string by
lines 1330 through 1370. Since the
new pattern must match the board, we
move directly to the random-move
selection code in lines 1380 through
1410.
This is the point at which 1
discovered a most interesting phenom-
enon. I beat the computer 32 times in
a row, which left the poor machine
without any counters in a certain pat-
tern. Therefore, during the 33rd game
it could not find a move other than
zero, which is not allowed. So I added
line 1420 to the program. This does
what any self-respecting learning
machine would do in a similar situa-
tion— it resets the program and starts
over. When I tested this feature, I beat
the machine 55 times in a row before
it discovered the proper moves and
finally won.
In line 1430, we save the computer's
chosen move in the 19th position
(byte) of the matchbox. Then we
reverse the mirroring of the board (so
we're looking at it right-side-up) and
get back into the game itself at line
1110.
The rest of the program supports
these few lines of code, and prompts
the human player to make his or her
choices. Lines 1480 through 1620
check for a win, loss or draw, and
return a number in WIN to indicate
what was found. This logic is used
only after a move has been made.
When the game is over, we end up at
line 590, which can then send us on
to a number of places, depending on
who won the game. Line 760 adds two
new "beads" to the matchbox when
the computer wins. Line 860 takes
away one bead if the computer loses.
Line 63O doesn't change a thing.
HOW TO PLAY
To play this game, use either a joystick
plugged into controller jack 1 or the
[SELECT] and [START] keys. Either the
joystick or the [SELECT] key will move
the cursor on the game board to a new
position.
When the cursor is in the square you
want, press either the fire button or the
[START] key and your choice will be
recorded. ("X" always goes first.)
When it's your turn, you can see
what's in the MCHBOXS array by
pressing the [OPTION] key. It can be
listed either to your printer or to the
screen (if your printer is turned off).
You can also save the patterns stored
in the computer by pressing the
[OPTION] key before a new game has
started. This period is indicated by the
"Who goes first?" message. In this
case, you'll be asked for a device and
file specification (without beginning
or ending quotes). When the patterns
have been saved, respond normally to
the prompt message at the top of the
screen.
GETTING THE MOST
FROM THE PROGRAM
To get the most from this program, you
should keep statistics. Make a chart of
who wins and loses each game in se-
quence, and plot the results. You'll be
able to see your computer improve
with practice.
54
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
Don't try every conceivable com-
bination on the machine at the outset.
The learning process will proceed
slowly; there is too much for the com-
puter to "learn" all at once. I prefer to
use one or two patterns consistently
until the machine has figured out how
to handle them. Only then do I move
on to a new pattern. Using this tech-
nique, the effects of practice on the
computer's ability ought to be obvious
after 20 games or so. And let the com-
puter go first. It seems to learn much
faster that way.
Finally, remember that this is an ex-
perimental program. If you don't like
the way the computer is learning, re-
start the program and try again. You
can also change the reward and pun-
ishment values in lines 760 and 860,
to see if the machine learns faster
under a different set of conditions. Or
you can alter the random-selection
weighting factor to provide for greater
differentiation between beads of dif-
ferent colors. These parameters are set
in line 310.
This program can teach you (and
your computer) quite a bit about artifi-
cial intelligence. Have fun, experi-
ment, and then sit back and let your
Atari amaze your friends and relatives
with its new-found skills.
Joseph Hafner is an electronics design
engineer with ten years of hardware
and software experience on both large
and small computers. He has also
taught hardware and software design
to beginners, using BASIC, FORTRAN
and Assembler
110 DIM MARK$(2) ,MB$(300*ig) , LINE$(5) ,
B0ARD$(72) ,FNAME$( 15) , J$(3)
120 DIM WIN$(24) ,IMDEX(8) , ALT$(72) ,PLA
YS(4)
130 MABK$=CHR$(ASC("X" )-^32) :MARK$(2)=C
HR$( ASCC'O" )+32)
140 MB$( 1 )=i»]" :MB$(5700)="B' :MB$(2)=MB
$
150 MB$(1 ,9)=" ■■ : FOR 1 = 10 TO 1
9:MB$(I)="I]' :NEXT I
160 LINE$-'a*H*g"
180 WT N $="nFll-'U iUKMnlH^M II ■l.-'l-i H li I H ■l-i!''! ilNl"
200 FOR 1 = 0 TO 8:READ A : I NO EX ( I )=A : NE X
T I
210 DATA 1,2,3,8,9 ,4,7,6,5
2 25 A I T $="nHni-iHliM\IJ iKMH ll*Hlil..1 ■liM\MH ll-^ffTiRI
H h l..-N^ H II il-* I II l-M\l.--li H I ill H |i I II H.4\l.-'l ■I\l..--Ii H H I II l-UI ■IHJra
IZSHHJIjI"
270 FOR 1=0 TO 4:REA0 A : P L A Y S ( I )=A : M E X
T I
280 DATA 96,184,175,272, 254
290 XL = 8:XH=XL-i-4: YL = 3 : YH=YL-i-4
300 WINS=0:LOSES=0: DRAWS=0
310 R=2 :P=1 :D=0:WFACTOR=1
360 GOSUB 201 0
380 GRAPHICS 2:P0KE 7 5 6 , 2 2 6 : S ET C 0 L 0 R 0
,0,0
39 0 BOARDS (1)=" -■: BOARDS ( 72 )=■' ": BOARD
$(2)=B0ARD$( 1 ) :GOSUB 930
400 MOVENUM=0:HUMAN=0
410 ? ■■WINS=" ;WINS ;" L OS E S=" ; L OS E S ; ' D
RAWS=' ; DRAWS ;
420 ? ■■ PATTERNS-' ; LEN(MB$)/19
430 POSITION 2,0:? #6;"do you want to
go"
440 FOR 1=0 TO 1 STEP 0:POSITION 5,1:?
#6 ; ' f i r s tHy nB
450 FOR J=0 TO 1 STEP 0:IF PEEK(53279)
=3 THEN GOSUB 2110
460 IF PEEK( 764)<255 THEN J=2
470 NEXT J
480 OPEN #2,4,0,"K:" :GET #2 , A : P OS I T I 0 N
14,1: PUT #6 , AH-32 : CLOSE #2
490 IF A=ASC("Y") THEN H UM A N=1 : CMP T R=2
: 1=2
500 IF A=ASCCN") THEN CMP T R=1 : H UMA N=2
:I=2
51 0 NEXT I
5 20 PLAYER=2
530 FOR 1=0 TO 19:F0R J=0 TO 1:P0SITI0
N I , J : ? #6 ; ■ " : NEXT J :NEXT I
540 PLAYER=PLAYER-i-1-2*(PLAYER=2):M0VEN
UM=M0VENUM-i-1
550 POSITION 6, 0
560 IF PLAYER=HUMAN THEN ? #6;-your mo
ve " : GOSUB 1010
570 IF PLAYER=CMPTR THEN ? #6;" my mov
e ":GOSUB 1250
580 GOSUB 1480
590 ON WIN GOTO 540,610,700,720
610 POSITION 6, 0: ? #6; ■ a draw "
620 FOR 1=19 TO LEN(MBS) STEP 19:J=ASC
(MB$( I ) ) :MB$( I , I )=CHR$( 0)
630 IF J THEN J = I-1 0 + J : A=AS C ( MB $ ( J ) ) : A
=A-i-D*(A<Z55):MB$(J,J) = CHR$(A)
640 NEXT I
650 DRAWS=DRAWS + 1 : RESTORE 680
660 FOR 1=1 TO 10:READ A,B:SOUND 0,A,1
0,8
670 FOR J=1 TO B*20:NEXT J:SOUND 0,0,0
, 0 : NEXT I : GOTO 380
680 DATA 40,1,0,1,53,1,53,1,47,2,53,1,
0,2,42,1,0,1,40,1
700 ON HUMAN GOTO 840,740
720 ON CMPTR GOTO 840,740
740 POSITION 6 , 0 : ? #6 ; ■ i win
750 FOR 1=19 TO LEN(MBS) STEP 19:J=ASC
(MB$(I) ) :MB$(I , I)=CHR$(0)
760 IF J THEN J = I-1 0-h J : A=AS C ( MB $ ( J ) ) : A
=A-i-R*(A<150):MBS(J,J)=CHR$(A)
770 NEXT I
780 WINS=WINS-i-1 :RESTORE 810
790 FOR 1=1 TO 19:READ A,B:SOUND 0,A,1
0,8
800 FOR J=1 TO B*20:NEXT J:SOUND 0,0,0
, 0 : NEXT I : GOTO 380
810 DATA 81,1,81,1,81,1,81,2,162,3,162
,1,144,1,121,1,81,3,81,1,76,1
820 DATA 81,1,81,2,91,2,81,2,91,2,108,
1,102,1,136,5
840 POSITION 6,0:? #6;" you win "
850 FOR 1=19 TO LEN(MB$) STEP 19:J=ASC
(MB$( I ) ) :MBS( I , I )=CHRS( 0)
continued on next page
April 1984
55
860 IF J THEN J = I-1 0 + J : A=A S C ( MB $ ( J ) ) : A =1:12 = 11+8
=A-P* ( A>0) :MB$( J , J)=CHR$( A) 1290 FOR J=1 TO 64 STEP 9 : J 1=J : J 2=J 1 +8
870 NEXT I 1300 IF B 0 A R D$ ( J 1 , J 2 )=MB$ ( 1 1 , I 2 ) THEN
880 L0SES=L0SES+1 : RESTORE 910 POP :PGP :GOTO 1380
890 FOR 1=1 TO 11:READ A,B:SOUND 0,A,1 1310 NEXT J
0,8 1320 NEXT I
900 FOR J = 1 TO B*20:NEXT JiSOUND 0,0,0 1330 I = L E N ( MB $ ) + 1 : MB $ ( I )=B 0 A R D $ ( 1 , 1 9 ) :
,0:NEXT I:GOTO 380 ? • NEW PATTERN"
910 DATA 193,4,193,3,193,1,193,3,162,3 1340 FOR J = 1 TO 9 : K=I + J + 8 : MB $ ( K , K )=C H R
,173,1,173,3,193,1,193,3,204,1,193,5 $(0)
930 POSITION XL,YL + 0:? #6 ; B 0 A R D $ ( 1 , 1 ) ; 1350 IF B 0 A R D $ ( J , J )=• ■ THEN MB$(K,K) =
■ I" ;B0ARD$(2,2) ;" I" ;B0ARD$(3,3) C H R $ ( 5-1 NT ( ( MO V E NUM+1 ) / 2 ) )
940 POSITION XL,YL+1:? #6;LINE$ 1360 NEXT J
950 POSITION XL,YL + 2:? #6 ; B 0 A R D $ ( 8 , 8 ) ; 1370 MB $ ( I + l 8 , 1 + 1 8 )=C H R$ ( 0 ) : J 1 = 1 : J 2=9
• I" ; BOARDS (9,9) ;■■ I" ; BOARDS (4, 4) 1380 I NO E X=I + 9 : MAXWE I G HT=0 : MO V E=0
960 POSITION XL,YL + 3:? #6;LINE$ 1390 FOR I = INDEX TO I ND E X + 8 : WE I GHT=ASC
970 POSITION XL,YL + 4:? #6 ; B 0 A R D $ ( 7 , 7 ) ; ( MB $ ( I ) ) *WF ACT 0 R * R ND ( 0 )
•• I" ;B0ARD$(6,6) ; ■ !•■ ;B0ARD$(5,5) 1400 IF WE I G HT>MAXWE I G HT THEN MAXWEIGH
980 FOR 1 = 100 TO 10 STEP -5:S0UND 0,1, T=WE I G HT : MO V E = I-I ND E X+1
10,8:NEXT I:SOUND 0,0,0,0 1410 NEXT I
990 RETURN 1420 IF MOVE=0 THEN ? " PATTERN RESET
1010 CX=XL :CY=YL :BLANK=32:MARKER=20 " : 1=1 N D E X-9 : G OT 0 1340
1020 LOCATE CX,CY,A:IF A=BLANK THEN GO 1430 MB $ ( I ND EX+9 , I ND E X + 9 )=C H R $ ( MO V E )
TO 1060 1440 FOR J = J 1 TO J2:IF MO V E=AS C ( A L T$ ( J
1030 CX=CX + 2:IF CX>XH THEN CX=XL:CY=CY )) THEN MO V E = AS C ( A L T$ ( J-J 1 + 1 ) ) : J = J 2
+2 1450 NEXT J
1040 IF CY>YH THEN CY=YL:CX=XL 1460 GOTO 1110
1050 GOTO 1020 1480 PLAY=0:WIN=1
1060 POSITION CX,CY:PUT #6 , MA RKE R : GOS U 1490 FOR 1 = 1 TO 22 STEP 3
B 1170 1500 SUM=ASC(BOARD$(ASC(WIN$(I) ) ) )+ASC
1070 POSITION CX,CY:PUT #6,BLANK ( B 0 A R D$ ( AS C ( WI N$ ( 1 + 1 ) ) ) ) +AS C ( B 0 A R D $ ( AS
1080 ON KEYIN GOTO 1090,1030,1100 C ( WI N$ ( 1+2 ) ) ) )
1090 GOSUB 1170:ON KEYIN GOTO 1060,103 1510 IF (SUM=360) OR (SUM=333) THEN PO
0,1100 P :G0TO 1590
1100 M0VE=INDEX(3*( (CY-YL)/2)+(CX-XL)/ 1520 IF PLAY THEN GOTO 1560
2) 1530 FOR J=0 TO 4
1110 BOARD$(MOVE,MOVE)=MARK$(PLAYER,PL 1540 IF SUM=PLAYS(J) THEN PLAY=1
AYER) 1550 NEXT J
1120 GOSUB 930 1 560 NEXT I
1130 FOR 1=0 TO 63 STEP 9 : J=ASC ( A L T$ ( I 1570 IF PLAY THEN RETURN
+MOVE)) 1590 IF SUM=360 THEN WIN=3
1140 BOARD$(I+J, I+J)=MARK$(PLAYER,PLAY 1600 IF SUM=333 THEN WIN=4
En):NEXT I 1610 IF (WIN=1) AND (PLAY=0) THEN WIN=
1 150 RETURN 2
1170 IF (PEEK(53279)<>7) THEN FOR J=l 1620 RETURN
TO 20:NEXT J 1710 TRAP 1820:OPEN #4,8,0,"P:"
1180 IF (STRIG(0)=0) OR ( ST I C K ( 0 ) <>1 5 ) 1720 FOR 1 = 1 TO LEN(MB$)-10 STEP 19
THEN FOR J=l TO 20:NEXT J 1730 J=I NT ( I / 1 9 ) + 1
1190 FOR 1=1 TO 10 1740 IF J<1000 THEN J $=■ •
1200 IF (PEEK(53279)=5) OR (STICK(0)<> 1750 IF J<100 THEN J $=" ■
15) THEN KEYIN=2:P0P :RETURN 1760 IF J<10 THEN J $=" ■
1210 IF (PEEK(53279)=6) OR (STRIG(0)<> 1770 J $ ( L E N ( J $ ) + 1 )=S T R $ ( J )
1) THEN KEYIN=3:P0P :RETURN 1780 PRINT #4;J$;" •■;MB$(I,I + 8)
1220 IF (PEEK(53279)=3) THEN GOSUB 171 1790 FOR J=I+9 TO 1+18
0 1800 PRINT #4;ASC(MB$( J) ) ;" ■ ;
1230 NEXT I:KEYIN=1 :RETURN 1810 NEXT J:PRINT #4:NEXT IrCLOSE #4 • R
1250 IF MOVENUMoO THEN GOTO 1280 ETURN
1260 FOR 1 = 1 TO 9:IF B 0 A R D $ ( I , I ) = ■ • T 1820 CLOSE #4:GRAPHICS 0
HEN MOVE = I 1830 FOR 1 = 1 TO LEN(MB$)-10 STEP 1 9 : J =
1270 NEXT I :GOTO 1110 INT(I/19)+1
1280 FOR 1 = 1 TO LEN(MB$)-10 STEP 19:11 1840 IF J<1000 THEN J $=■ ■■
56 ANTIC, The Atari Resource
1850 IF J<100 THEN J $- • "
1860 IF J<10 THEN J $=■ "
1870 J$( LEN( J$) + 1 )=STR$( J ) : ? J $ ; " '[MB
$(I,I + 8) ;•• " ;
1880 FOR J = I + 9 TO 1 + 18:? AS C ( MB $ ( J ) ) ; ■
• ; :NEXT J : ? :NEXT I
1890 ? " PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE GA
ME,"
1900 IF ( PEEK(764)=255) AND (PEEK(5327
9)=7) THEN 1900
1910 GRAPHICS 2:P0KE 7 5 6 , 2 2 6 : S E T C 0 L 0 R
0,0,0: POKE 764,255
1920 POSITION 6,0:? #6;"your move":GOS
UB 930 : RETURN
2010 GRAPHICS 0:OPEN #3 , 4 , 0 , " K : ■ : ? " R
ecall previous learning?";
2020 GET #3, A:? C H R $ ( A ) ; : C L 0 S E #3
2030 IF AoASCCY") THEN RETURN
2040 ? : ? " Wlia t d e v : f i I e n ame" ;
2050 INPUT FNAME$
2060 TRAP 2080:OPEN #3 , 4 , 0 , F N AME $
2070 FOR X=1 TO 5700:GET #3,0D:IF DD=1
55 THEN POP : GOTO 2078
2072 MB$(X)=CHR$(DD)
2074 NEXT X
2078 RETURN
2080 ? :? " Sorry, unable to open that
file."
2090 ? " Please try again." :GOTO 2010
2110 ? :? " Save current learning."
2120 ? " What d e V : f i I e n ame ' ;
2130 INPUT FNAME$
2140 TRAP 2160:OPEN #3 , 8 , 0 , F N AME $
2150 PRINT #3;MB$:CL0SE #3:RETURN
2160 ? :? " Sorry, unable to open that
file."
217 0 ? "WINS=" ;WINS;" L OS E S=" ; L 0 S E S ;"
DRAWS=" ; DRAWS ;
2180 ? " PATTERNS=" ;LEN(MB$)/19
2190 RETURN
Software Discounters
TYPO TABLE
Var
i a b I e
Line
110
270
440
550
680
820
940
1070
1200
1330
1450
1590
1790
1910
2080
Che
n um
c k s
r a n
225
430
540
670
81 0
930
1 06
1 19
132
1 44
157
1 78
190
207
219
um
2281870
Code
PT
AK
01
SJ
PN
flE
YF
US
FT
KT
LX
UP
YE
Tl
VO
Length
501
500
522
498
503
553
525
396
428
51 8
273
347
447
429
341
S.D. of A.
Q
America ^
1-800-225-SOFT
P.O. Box 278-Wildwood, PA 15091
In PA (412) 361-5291
Your Atari
Software Specialist!!
Artworx
Bridge 4.0 (T or D) $18
Gwendolyn (D) $18
Monkey Math (T or D) $18
Strip Poker (D) $21
Broderbund
Arcade Mactiine (D) $37
Bank St. Writer (D) $43
Ctioplifter (D) $21
Loderunner (D) $23
MaskOfTtieSun(D) $25
Spare Ctiange (D) $21
CBS Software
All Educational Titles Call
Continental
Book of Atari Software '84 . . . .$13
Atari Users Encyclopedia. . . .$13
Home Accountant (D) $47
Datasott
Bruce Lee (T or D) $23
Dallas Quest (D) $23
Micropainter (D) $21
Epyx
Fun w/Art{CT) $25
Gateway To Apstiai (CT) $25
Jumpman (T or D) $25
Jumpman Jr. (CT) $25
Pitstop (CT) $25
Silicon Warrior (CT) $25
Temple of Apstiai (T or D) $25
First Star
Astro Ctiase (T or D) $19
Bristles (T or D) $19
Flip & Flop (T or D) $19
Gamester
Baseball (T or D) $21
Football (T or D) $21
infocom
Deadline (D) $33
Enctianler (D) $33
Infidel (D) $33
Planetfall (D) $33
Sorcerer (D) $33
ZorkI, llorlll(D) $25
LJK
Data Perfect (D) $67
Letter Perfect (D or CT) $67
Spell Perfect (D) $55
MIcroprose
Hellcat Ace (Tor D) $21
Solo Fligtit(D) $24
Parker Bros.
Frogger (CT) $33
Popeye(CT) $33
Q-Bert (CT) $33
Sega
Buck Rogers (CT) $25
Congo Bongo (CT) $25
Star Trek (CT) $25
Sierra On-Llne
BC Quest For Tires (D) $21
BC Quest For Tires (CT) $25
Dark Crystal (D) $25
Homeword (D) $49
Ultima I (D) $21
Ultima II (D) $37
Wizards Princess (D) $21
Spinnaker
Aerobics (D) $27
Aegean Voyage (CT) $25
Alphabet Zoo (CT) $21
Fraction Fever (CT) $21
Kindercomp(CT) $19
SnooperTroop 1 or2 (D) $27
Story Machine (CT) $21
Strategic Simulations
Combat Leader (T or D) $25
Eagles (T or D) $25
Ringside Seat (T or D) $25
Scarborough
Mastertype (CT) $25
Songwriter (D) $25
Synapse
BlueMax(TorD) $21
Dimension X (Tor D) $21
Encounter (Tor D) $21
Necromancer (T or D) $21
Quasimodo (Tor D) $21
Rainbow Walker (Tor D) $21
Zepellin(TorD) $21
Accessories
Alien Group Voice Box $89
Ape Face $59
BASFSS, DD $17 Box
CompuServe Starter Kit $25
Full Stroke Replacement
Keyboard for Atari 400 $59
Intec 32K Ram $35
Microbits Modem MPP1000C$125
RanalOOO Call
Wico Bat Handle $19
Wico Boss $13
Wico Red Ball $21
Wico3-Way $23
Wico Trackball $29
Ordering & Terms: Orders with castiier ctieck or money order stiipped im-
mediately. Personal/Co, ctiecks allow 3 weeks clearance. VISA/MASTERCARD
accepted witfi no additionel charge. Shipping: Orders under $100 add $3; free
shipping on orders over $100, PA. residents add Q'sales tax. Returns: Defective
merchandise will be replaced with same merchandise — no credits! Returns
must have authorization number (412) 361-5291. Prices subject to change
without notice.
April 1984
57
B Ben |am I n 84^ -I ^ , ^
ATARI CONTROLS
YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Simple computer appliance interface
^turi home computers are ca-
pable of much more than
just playing games and
' tackling traditional pro-
gramming applications. The Atari's
four game controllers (two on XL
models) contain sixteen lines (eight on
the XL series), each of which can be
set for input or output. This offers the
user up to 65,536 (2^*) possible exter-
nal operations.
This article explains how to set one
line to output, how to turn appliances
on and off, and how to dial your phone
under computer control.
WHAT IS A CAI?
The computer-appliance interface
by JEFF McHIE
SYNOPSIS
A coDipiiler-appliance interface (CAI)
is a device t/jcit lets you control appli-
ances and other machines with your
computer Although building C4 CAI is
not an extraordinarily complex pro-
ject, yon should he experienced ivith
electronic circuit assembly before you
attempt it. You must build the circuit
to use the programs in this article. Do
not use these programs with a
joystick, or you nuiy damage your
computer This CAI and itsprogratns
work irith Atari computers of all
nu)dels and memory configurations.
(CAI) consists of the following circuits-,
a regulated 5V-DC power supply; a
two-stage inverting buffer; an infrared
optoisolator; a single-stage transistor
amplifier; a micro relay; and a macro
relay.
The power-supply circuit (Figure 1)
was constructed from readily available
parts, and is much larger than neces-
sary. You can add one control-line
circuit.
The main circuit (Figure 2) shows
the interconnection of the two-stage
inverting buffer, the optoisolator, and
the amplifier that powers the micro
relay. The optoisolator acts as a phys-
ical barrier between the computer and
the llOV-AC circuit that is being con-
58
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
trolled. Without this protection, the
computer could be electrically zapped
and destroyed (see ANTIC, Systems
Guide, March 1984). All parts except
the micro relay are available from
Radio Shack.
The micro relay, manufactured by
Struther Dunn, Inc., is available from
Allied, Inc., 1355 North McLean Blvd.,
Elgin, IL. Insert it into an IC socket for
easier installation.
^bu'Il need a DI:9S connector to
plug the CAI into your computer's joy-
stick port. These are available from
Atari, Radio Shack, and electronics
parts stores. Figure 3 shows you which
pinouts to use: Our device will use
pin 3.
Soldering the connector pins to the
cable's wire ends and putting on the
shell are quite difficult jobs. You must
be both experienced with soldering
and patient to complete them success-
fulh-.
WARNINGS
Before you attempt to build the circuit
or use its associated programs, please
note the following warnings:
• If yoti attach any non-standard
device to your Atari computer, your
warranty will be voided.
• You should never use either of the
programs included in this article
with a joystick attached to your
computer. This could short a line
and destroy the PIA chip.
• The 110 V-AC power lines constitute
a potential shock hazard, and must
be carefull}- insulated.
BUILDING THE CAI
The location of parts isn't of critical
importance. I used u three-and-a-half-
inch by six-inch perf panel as a base,
and attached the transformer, macro
relay, and cables to it. The power sup-
ply and the optoisolator/detector cir-
cuit were assembled on separate pieces
of printed-circuit (P(;) board. These
were then attached to the main perf
board.
The optoisolator consists of two
components: an infrared emitter and
an infrared pht)totransislor. To insure
maximum coupling, these compo-
nents should be mounted on PC board
so that they almost touch; a small piece
'AKE-APART for PHONE-DRIVER PROGRAM
Line 10 Dimensions AS.
Line 15 Prompts user to select cither toll-free or local-cal
format.
Line 20 Prompts user to input number to be called.
Line 25 Disconnects phone for a short time to clear any
previous call. Sets Zl flag (Zl = l) if toll-free option was
selected.
Line 30 Informs user that a call is being processed and sup-
presses ciu'sor.
Line 40 Starts output sequence.
Lines 60 & 61 Connect phone and pause for a sht)rt time to obtain a
dial tone.
Line 65 Retrieves one element of AS at a time and forces its
numeric value into variable C.
Line 66 If a zero is encountered in variable C, it is converted to
10. A zero must be transmitted as ten pulses to conform
to protocol.
Line 70 Transmits pulses to the phone; the number of pulses to
transmit is defined by lines 65 and 66, and is forced in-
to variable C.
i^Line 75 Checks to see if flag Zl has been set (Zl = 1), indicating
I' that a toll-free number has been input. If so, the pro-
gram branches to line 270, which checks for hyphens at
three locations in the phone number.
Line 80 If the branch at line 75 did not occur, this code —
which checks for only one hyphen — is run. Variable B
(the current element) is incremented. When B = 4, indi-
cating that a hyphen numeric value is to be forced into
variable C, B is incremented again so that the pulse-
generation code will receive the next digit, rather than
the ASCII value for a hyphen.
Line 90 Checks to see if the last digit of the phone number has
been processed. If not, the program continues to line
95. If the last digit has been processed, the code resets
flag Zl to zero, resets B to 1, clears the screen, turns
cursor back on, and returns to line 15.
Line 95 Provides a pause between the pulse scries being trans-
mitted to the phone.
Line 100 Loops back to line 65 to pick up the next digit for
processing.
Lines 150 & 200 Prompts the user regarding the "800 number" input
format .
Line 250 Turns the phone line off.
Line 260 Sets the number of elements to be processed to 15 by
setting Z2= 15.
Line 270 Checks for three hyphens and skips over them when
they occur. Increments variable B to select the next
digit to transmit, and loops back to transinitting code.
Line 275 Loop back to transmitting code.
of black shrink tubing is then slipped
on to hold them in alignment. Care
must be taken to insure that the cases
don't come in contact, howe\er, since
this would compromise the optoiso-
lator's function. If black shrink tubing
isn't used, the optoisolator will be ex-
posed to ambient light and may not
function properly.
continued on next page
April 1984
59
A miniature, dual-inline, reed-type
micro relay can be inserted into a stan-
dard IC socket, which in turn can be
mounted on the PC board. The sock-
et's pins protrude through the back of
the PC board, and it is to these pins
that connections should be made.
The relay's pin-outs follow standard
IC labeling practice. Pins 2 and 6 are
used for coil power; pins 8 and 16 are
relay contacts.
Use the specified micro relay. Other
available micro relays draw more cur-
rent, and may not work in this applica-
tion. If you must substitute another
device, make sure that its coil draws
less than 10 milliamps at 5V-DC. On
the other hand, any llOV-AC-coil,
general-purpose macro relay should
work. Its specifications aren't critical.
ADDITIONAL WARNINGS
Once you've built the CM, resist the
temptation to try it out right away.
Before exposing your expensive and
delicate computer to this strange
device, run a bench test to make sure
that neither the power drain on Bit
Line 3 nor the computer's power sup-
ply exceeds specifications.
To do this, you'll need a Simpson
260 test meter or its equivalent. First,
set the test meter to the 100-milliamp
scale and connect it in series from the
+ 5V-DC connection on your power
supply to pin 7 on the connector. Next,
connect a shorting line to pin 4, and
prepare to touch the other end to the
ground on the power supply. When
you insert wires into the connector, be
careful not to damage the receptacles
by using excessive force or a wire that
is too large. Touch the shorting lirie to
the ground. You should hear the
macro relay "pull in," and your meter
should read less than 50 milliamps.
Next, remove the test meter and set
it to the 10-milliamp scale. Connect the
-I-5V-DC pin directly to pin 7 and
reconnect the test meter in series with
your shorting line. Now, connect to
ground. Again, you should hear the
macro relay pull in, and your meter
should read less than 1.6 milliamps. If
these tests don't produce the expected
amperage values or if the relay doesn't
pull in, something is wrong. Stop and
check for shorts, the incorrect wiring
of transistors, etc. Don't use the CAI on
your computer until everything checks
out.
USING THE CAI
When these bench tests produce the
proper results, type in the driver pro-
gram, connect the CAI to Port I, set it
for an appliance, and you're ready to
go.
The CAI also has a telephone inter-
face. Use Figure 4 to connect your
phone to the CAI. Then type in the
phone-dialer program (Listing 2),
remove the phone from its cradle, and
type in a phone number
"Pulse" phone dialing is accom-
plished by opening and closing the
phone circuit quickly, creating a
"pulse series," and by holding the
phone circuit closed for a short time
between series.
Phone-number digits are coded so
that the number "3" equals three
pulses, "6" equals six pulses, etc. Zero
("0") is coded as ten pulses.
This article deals with only a few of
the ways in which you can interface
your Atari with the outside world.
Other possibilities include adding a
four-to-sixteen-line decoder that
would provide you with control of as
many as sixteen devices from one port
plug, and remote control of the appli-
ances in your home via your Atari.
Jeff McHie, a fifleen-year-old high
school sophomore ivho lives in South
Holland, Illinois, is currently study-
ing mainframe programming. His
other computing interests range from
writing machine-language arcade
games to building a "stand-alone"
computer dedicated to home security
and energy conservation. Jeff has
been exposed to computers from the
first grade on, and is a member of
Computer Squad, a local Atati users'
group.
1 1 0 vac
Dual In-Line
Bridse Rectifier
(276-1161
Note: Numbers in parentheses
are Radio Shack part numbers
Figure 1
5V-DC REGULATED POWER SUPPLY
Electrolytic
Capacitor
2200 MF
O +5V-DC
O Ground
60
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
See page 108 for Figure 2.
'Ground
To CAI
Phone Input
Duplex Phone Jack
and Plate
(Pacific Electricord Co.
C-0254-1/C-1V)
Fisure 3
Fisure 4
CAI PHONE CONNECTOR
Listing 1
WARNING: DO NOT RUN THIS
PROGRAM WITH JOYSTICK ATTACHED
20
30
TI
40
TE
TA
45
RE
50
0
U
60
DA
65
S
70
,8
PC
80
S
90
10
1 1
12
13
14
OR
0
REM C
PORTA
ON REG
PACTL
R , SELE
OR DI
POKE
CTION
POKE
UTPUT
SED AN
POKE
TA REG
POKE
ETTING
REM N
)BIT L
RTA, 0
REM L
AN OUT
DIM C
0 INPU
0 IF C
0 IF C
0 GOTO
0 REM
OFF A
R OFF
A.I 0 R I
=54016:R
ISTER
= 5401 8 : R
CTS WHET
RECTION
PACTL , 56
REGISTER
PORTA , 8 :
BIT. THE
D WILL R
PACTL , 60
ISTER
PORTA, 8 :
VER PROGR
EM PORTA
EM PORTA
HER PORTA
(INPUT/OU
:REM SET
REM SELEC
OTHER BIT
EMAIN AS
: REM RESE
AM
DATA OR DIREC
CONTROL REGIS
WILL BE A DA
TPUT) REG.
PORTA AS A DI
T BIT 3 AS AN
S WILL NOT BE
INPUT BIT
T PORTA AS A
REM INTIALIZE "OFF'
OW IF WE SET BIT
INE 3 WILL GO HIG
BIT LINE 3 WILL G
INES 10-70 SELECT
PUT LINE
$(3)
T C$
$="0N" THEN POKE
$="OFF" THEN POKE
100
LINES 100-130 LET
PPLIANCES BY EITH
BIT 3
Listing 2
3 (POKE PORTA
H , IF WE POKE
0 LOW
PORTA, BIT3 A
PORTA, 0
PORTA, 8
YOU TURN ON
ER TURNING ON
5 REM PHONE DRIVER
9 B=1
10 DIM A$( 100) : ? CHR$( 1 25)
15 POSITION 3,2:? "IF YOU WISH TO DIAL
A TOLL FREE NUMBER TYPE (TOLL F
REE) ."
20 POSITION 3,5:? "PLEASE PRINT THE NU
MBER YOU WISH TO CALL IN THIS FORMAT
(123-4567).":? "[H" : Z 2=9 : I NP UT AS
25 POKE 54016, 0:FOR 1 = 0 TO 200:NEXT I:
IF A$( 1 , 4)="T0LL" THEN Z1=1:Q=1:? CHR$
( 125) : GOTO 150
30 POKE 752,1:P0SITI0N 10,13:? "PLEASE
WAIT CALLING"
40 POKE 5401 8, 56
60 POKE 54016, 8
61 FOR 0=0 TO 250:NEXT 0
6 5 C=VAL ( A$(B, B) )
66 IF C=0 THEN C=1 0
70 FOR 1=1 TO C:POKE 54016, 0:FOR T=0 T
0 1:NEXT T:POKE 54016, 8:F0R T=0 TO 1:N
EXT T:NEXT I
75 IF Z1=1 THEN 270
80 B=B+1 : IF B=4 THEN B=B+1
90 IF B=Z2 THEN B=1 : ? "S :Z1=0:POKE 75
2, 0:GOTO 15
95 FOR G=0 TO 80:NEXT G
100 GOTO 65
150 ? "H" : POSITION 2,2
200 ? " IF YOU ARE DIALING A TOLL FREE
NUMBER DIAL IN THIS F 0 RMA T ( 1-8 0 0-1 2 3-
4567 ) ." : ? "m" : INPUT A$
250 POKE 54016, 0:FOR 1=0 TO 200:NEXT I
260 Z2=15
265 GOTO 30
270 B=B+1:IF B=2 OR B=6 OR B=1 0 THEN B
= B + 1 : GOTO 90
275 GOTO 90
continued on pase 108
April 1984
61
MEMORY
WINDOW
A byte-sized look
at your Atari memory
by DAVE MENTLEY
Hf you've ever wondered what the
pB inside of your computer's memory
im looks like, this program may help
|P satisfy your curiosity by opening
a window for you directly into
memory.
HOW TO USE THE PROGRAM
When you first RUN the program, the
screen is split horizontally into two
areas. The upper half of the screen
contains a Graphics 0 text screen
which holds eight lines of 32
characters each — exactly enough to
display 256 characters, or one page of
memory. The bottom half of the screen
shows which memory locations (in
decimal form) are on display, and the
number of the current page of
memory.
The initial display starts at the loca-
tion of the Graphics 0 text screen you
see when you turn on the computer.
As a result, you'll see the message
"Current Memory = " and the location
numbers flashing on both halves of the
split screen. You can use the keyboard
or a joystick to move the display
through memory.
SYNOPSIS
This program lets you view any por-
tion of your computer's memory on
the screen. It runs on all Atari com-
puters, and requires 16K RAM and
BASIC. A joystick is optional.
Pressing [.] or the joystick button
resets you to Page Zero. If you press [>]
or push the joystick forward, the win-
dow moves forward through memory
one page at a time. If you press [<] or
pull the joystick back, you'll move
backwards through memory. Bytes in
memory are displayed as their internal
Atari-character-set equivalents. Use the
up arrow or the down arrow, or push
the joystick right or left to move
through memory one byte at a time.
HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS
The program changes the address of
screen memory in the display list ac-
cording to input from the joystick or
keyboard. The [BREAK] key is dis-
abled, so you must either press
[RESET] or reboot to end the program.
PROGRAM TAKE-APART
Line 70: TRAPs to a RUN command,
disables [BREAK], sets screen
margins.
Line 80: Disables cursor, sets narrow
(32-column) playfield.
Line 90: POKEs new display list (DL)
into Page Six from DATA statements.
Lines 100-150: Set up new DL and acti-
vate it.
Lines 160-170: Print current memory
and page values.
Lines 180-220: Accept joystick and
keyboard input.
Line 230: Restricts input range to ac-
tual memory locations.
Lines 240-260: Adjust DL to display
new memory range and to branch
back to display and input routine.
Dave Mentley is a consultant in the
area of flat panel displays. He uses the
Atari 800 for report writing and data
base maintenance. Dave is a former
president of ABACUS, an Atari Users'
Group in San Francisco.
o
continued on page 64 —
62
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
10
15
20
25
30
35
50
70
REM
REM
REM
REM
REM
REM
REM
GRA
53774
80 POK
90 FOR
NEXT A
100 DL
*****************************
MEMORY WINDOW
BY DAVE MENTLEY
BASED ON PROGRAM BY
MIKE MOREY
ANTIC MAGAZINE
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
SC
PO
PO
ME
PO
7
1 10
120
130
140
150
160
0 r y = " :
170 ?
180 IF
MEM-0
190 IF
N MEM =
200 IF
N MEM =
210 IF
PHICS 0:TRAP 270:POKE 16,B4:P0KE
,64 : POKE 82,0: POKE 83 ,30
E 752,1: POKE 559 , 33
A-1536 TO 1 563 : READ B : POKE A, B :
ST5 = 1540: DLST6=1 541
RL0 = PEEK(88) : S C R H I = P E E K ( 8 9 )
KE DLST5,SCRL0: POKE DLST6,SCRHI
KE 1552,SCRL0 : POKE 1553,SCRHI
M=SCRHI»256+SCRL0
KE 560,0: POKE 561,6
CHR$(125):? " current mem
? MEM;" TO " ;MEM+256
PAGE= ■■ ; INT(MEM/256)
STRIG(0)=0 OR PEEK(764)=34 THEN
: POKE 764 , 0
STICK(0)=14 OR PEEK(764)=55 THE
MEM+256:P0KE 764,0
STICK(0)=13 OR PEEK(764)=54 THE
MEM-256:P0KE 764,0
STICK(0)=7 OR PEEK(764)=14 THEN
MEM = MEM+1 : POKE 764, 0
220 IF STICK(0)=11 OR PEEK(764)=15 THE
N MEM=MEM-1 : POKE 764, 0
230 IF MEM<0 OR MEM>65280 THEN MEM=652
80
240 MEMHI=INT(MEM/256):MEML0=MEH-256*M
EMHI
250 POKE DLST5 ,MEMLO : POKE DLSTB.MEMHI
260 GOTO 160
270 RUN
280 DATA 112,112,112,66,0,0,2,2,2,2,2,
2 , 2 , 0 , 0 , 7 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2 , 7 , 7 , 7 , 2 , 6 , 6 5 , 0 , 6 __
ADULT PARTY GAMES
From PARTLYSOFT comes a new use for your computer.
"Add spice to your Atari Computer" • "The games you'll love to lose"
BODY PARTS
HARD DAY
AT THE OFFICE
For 2 players, this game is ideal for you For 2 to 8 players, roam through the office
and your wife or that special friend, trying to earn enough pay to buy your way
Search behind over 100 doors to find with the player of your choice. 5 different
enough body parts to build your body. but. screens, and with every game, the winning
watch out for the hazards along the way
Remember, for 2 consenting adults.
ATARI 32K DISK
score varies. You're never sure when you'll
win and those surprise bonus points will
make you laugh and cry. As much fun for2
players as it is for 8.
$24,95 ATARI 32K DISK $29.95
Add $3.00 postage and handling.
PARTLY SOFT SOFTWARE
P.O. Box 3025 • Millani, HI 96789
Hawaii residents add iVi°/o sales tax.
®ij£ (i^emint ^nftuiarE (^u^tttt
FRONT PAGE
APRIL, 1984
VOL I PRICELESS
FINALLY!!! inexpensive quality software
MAGIC DUMP III
$34.95 8K Disk - If you own a Transtar
315 or Axiom GP-700 Color Printer® ,
Magic Dump III will be the best invest-
ment you'll ever make. Magic Dump III
will dump any mixed graphics or text
screen to the 315 or GP-700 in the
brilliance of eight colors and in three
sizes!!! Printing with any character set is
a breeze with Magic Dump III which is
written in machine language for ultra-fast
printing!!!
® Transtar is a trademark of Transtar.
® GP-700 is a trademark of Axiom Corp.
® Atari is a trademark of Atari Inc.
THE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM
$34.95 48K Disk - Written in Atari®
Basic, the EMS will organize and store
Accounts Receivable and expenditures.
The information can be listed to a printer,
viewed on screen, edited, and printed in
sales invoice and mailing label form. The
BMS will work with any printer for added
flexibility and will soon be available for
the Commodore 64.
©1984 Gemini Software
DIGI-VOICE
$39.95 32K minimum Disk - An amazing
new use for your Atari® !!! Now you can
digitize human voice or any other sound
and play it back at any speed or graphical-
ly analyze it. Use the recording in your
own games and programs!!! Comes with
audio cord that plugs into joystick port.
Send check or money order to:
Gemini Software
32 Dennis Lane
Buffalo, New York 14227
(716) 893-5115
Add $2.50 for shipping
New York residents add 7% tax
Dealer inquires invited
ADVANCED PROGRAMMER'S
UTILITY DISK
$14.95 This is a collection of useful soft-
ware development utilities that are writ>
ten in Atari® Basic and machine
language. Programs include Graphic
screen to redefined character converter,
display screen editor and converter, and
memory searcher.
ALP MAN
$29.95 48K Disk - Gemini Software's Alp
Man is the most exciting game you'll play
on your Atari® . Alp Man's thirteen
mountain scenes will keep you on the edge
of your seat while trying to get to the top
of the Alps. Machine language will keep
you moving fast!!!
LOGO DUMP
$34.95 lOK Disk - Logo Dump, written in
machine language, will allow you to print
those great works of art you developed
with graphics in the Logo language. Logo
Dump supports the Epson, Gemini, Pro-
writer, NEC, and Okidata printers. Pic-
tures can be printed in four different sizes
and can be saved on disk.
KOALA-PIC
$29.95 24K minimum Disk - Koala-Pic will
allow you to load and save a screen with
the Koala Pad® program in any format.
You'll never know Koala-Pic is in the com-
puter unless you are loading or saving a
picture. Screens from Grapiiic Master® ,
Micropainter® , Micro IllustratCH-, and
Gtia Draw® can be loaded or saved with
great ease. Koala-Pic does not modify any
disks or hardware, but works in unison
with the Micro Illustrator. ® Koala Pad, is
a trademark of Koala Technologies Cor-
poration. ® Graphic Master and Micro-
painter are trademarks of Datasoft Inc.
® Gtia Draw is a trademark of Gemini
Software. ® Micro Illustrator is a
trademark of Island Graphics Corp.
64
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
CP/M ON THE ATARI!
HOW? WITH THE INCREDIBLE
ATB
:^i 1 1
The ATR8000 is a 4 MHz, Z80, 64k RAM, CP/M microcomputer that is also the
complete ATARI interface. Besides bringing CP/M to the ATARI home com-
puter, the ATR8000 also enhances the ATARI'S operation. The ATR8000 has
ports for running a serial or parallel printer for ATARI DOS, complete with a
built-in 48k buffer. And, the ATR8000 enables the use of standard 5V4" and 8"
drives for ATARI DOS!
The ATR8000-ATARI system runs these DOSes:
ATARI DOSti
G
0
This is the operating
system of ATARI com-
puters. The ATR8000
runs this DOS from any
standard disk drive or from an ATARI
810 disk drive.
MYDOS
0
This multi-density DOS
is an ATARI compatible
DOS. Insingledensity, it
runs on an ATARI 810 or
a standard drive. In double density,
MYDOS runs on standard drives,
single and double-sided, 5'/i" and 8"!
This popular operating
system comes with the
ATR8000. It is a double
density DOS that runs
on standard drives. The ATR8000
reads CP/M disks from many other
microcomputers, too!
What do the ports of the ATR8000 do?
PERIPHERAL OUT
COMPUTER IN
RS-232
FLOPPY DISK
][
][
<B>
Runs a serial print-
er or a modem in
ATARI DOS and CP/M
operation. Includes
an automatic 48k
printer buffer in
ATARI operation.
Software includes
modem programs.
Runs both BVa"
and 8" standard disk
drives. Runs up to
four drives that are
any mixture of size,
density (single, dou-
ble or quad) and type
(single-sided or dou-
ble-sided).
This standard par-
allel port runs a paral-
lel printer in ATARI
and CP/M operation.
Includes an automa-
tic 48k printer buffer
in ATARI operation.
Interfaces ATARI
peripherals to the
ATR8000 for use in
ATARI operation. Per-
ipherals, like an
ATARI 810 drive, are
connected with an
ATARI Daisy Chain
Cable.
The ATARI home
computer is con-
nected to the ATR-
8000 here. For CP/M
operation, it is also
possible to connect
an RS-232 terminal
here.
Trademarks: ATARI, ATARI DOS. ATARI 810, ATARI, INC. ATR800D, SWP. Inc. CP/M, Digital Research, Inc, Z80, Zilog.
The ATR8000 is a product of:
MICRDCDIMPUTER PRDDIJCIS
For further information contact your local
dealer or SWP at:
2500 E. Randol Mill Road "^
Suite 125
Arlington, TX 76011
817-861-0421 or
metro 469-1181
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiij
i
64k ATR8000 w/ CP/M $499.95
MMG'S Great New Programs Are The Source
of Power For Your Atari System*
PYRAMID RUN SHAPE CHASE
Pyramid Run is a race against time and
the Demon Protectors of the tomb of
Egyptian Pharaoh Cheoteml<ahmen set
upon a scrolling view of the tunnels of
the Great Pyramid. Begin at any of five
levels of difficulty. Full color graphics and
sound effects highlight this game, with
dozens of the most hideous monsters in
computer gaming. In addition. Pyramid
Run is two games in one: as you complete
each pyramid, you play an interlude board
to win additional lives for the next run.
Pyramid Run requires 48K of RAM, one
disk drive and one joystick. The suggested
retail value is $29.95.
Shape Chase is an educational program
that introduces pre-school children to
shapes, numbers, and the alphabet in
three fun-to-play learning games. Your
children learn about Letters, Numbers.
Shapes. Colors. Pattern Matching, and
Memory Retention. The programs
automatically advance the child at his own
learning pace. The disk holds the child's
attention by varying the game scenario
and zeroing in on those areas that need
reinforcement.
Shape Chase is available on disk only,
requires 48K of RAM and one joystick.
The suggested retail value is $34,95,
POWERFUL UTILITIES
A POWERFUL
NEW PROGRAM
FOR DENTISTS!
FILL-N-BILL
FILL-N-BILL is a complete package for automation of the
billing and bookkeeping functions of the small dental office.
The program allows the entry of up to 255 standard
American Dental Association codes for procedures, with
descriptions and fees. Billings are produced by entering the
appropriate code, and the program enters the description and
fee on the bill. Non-standard codes may be entered into the
code dictionary and used like standard codes.
FILL-N-BILL will store up to 400 patients per disk. Each disk
will store up to 960 patients' visits, with four procedures per
visit.
The program keeps track of families, and ensures that all bills
for a household are sent to the appropriate family member.
The program also keeps track of the total number of
procedures for each code by provider, so that detailed
information on the practice for up to 16 providers in an office
may be obtained.
Insurance forms are printed using the standard ADA-approved
format acceptable by all major insurance companies. Monthly
statements can be printed in addition to those provided at
the time of treatment. Periodic purging to a historical data
disk allows permanent storage.
FILL-N-BILL requires 48K. any parallel printer, and at least two
disk drives. The suggested retail price is $999.95. Specific
customized versions are available at extra cost from MMG.
BASIC COMMANDER
MMG BASIC Commander has capabilities found
only on much larger computers. Single keystrokes
enable you to LIST, SAVE. ENTER, LOAD or RUN
files from your disk, and access DOS functions.
RENAME. DELETE, LOCK, UNLOCK even FORMAT
disks from BASIC! There are three programmable
keys for your favorite commands plus AUTOMATIC
LINE NUMBERING, BLOCK DELETE, and
RENUMBERING.
MMG BASIC Commander requires 16K of RAM and
one disk drive. The suggested retail value is
$34,95.
BASIC DEBUGGER
MMG BASIC Debugger, companion to MMG BASIC
Commander, is an all machine language program
co-resident with your BASIC program. The
Debugger dramatically simplifies debugging your
BASIC program. A partial list of its features:
TRACE - single step through your BASIC program:
FULL SCREEN EDITING; SPLIT SCREEN MODE see
2 parts of your program at once; CROSS
REFERENCE; SEARCH CAPABILITY.
MMG BASIC Debugger requires 24K of RAM and
one disk drive. The suggested retail value is
$34.95.
GRAPHIC TITLER
MMG Graphic Titler is used to create a wide
variety of screen displays and sounds. These
displays incorporate various sizes of text and
multicolored high resolution graphics. You can
save or change the screens and incorporate
them into display sequences. The REPLICATE
command will replicate a figure many times.
Detailed step-by-step instructions and many
ready-to-run examples are included on the diskette
MMG Graphic Titler requires 48K of RAM and one
disk drive. The suggested retail value is S39.95,
MMG software products are available at your local
dealer or direct from MMG Micro Software. Just
send check or money order to:
P.O. Box 131 Marlboro, NJ 07746
Or for MasterCard, Visa, and C.O.D, deliveries
call: (201)431-3472
Please add $3.00 for postage and handling for all
direct orders. New Jersey residents add 6% sales
tax.
MMG
micro software
ATARI is a registered trademark of ATARI. Inc.
UHLE BROTHER
GROWS UP
An audio/visual output mod for the 400
by DICK SLAVENS and JIM LEE
If you've installed 48K and a good
keyboard in your Atari 400,
you know that it's as capable
a computer as its big brother, the
800 — with one exception. The 400
does not provide a DIN jack for audio
and video output.
If you attach a high-quality color
monitor to your 400, this will improve
its graphics so much that you'll practi-
cally be able to "see the whites of your
enemy's eyes." Similarly, if you connect the 400's audio
output to a stereo, you'll be able to hear the "crash of
thunder" as you destroy him. This article explains how
to accomplish both of these goals for S20 and a few hoin\s
of work with a soldering gun.
BUILDING A CIRCUIT BOARD
Our goal is to build a circuit board, and then connect it
to a 400's motherboard. (To undertake this project, you
should be fairly adept at soldering. If you've assembled
a Heathkit, you'll probably have no trouble.)
Most of the component values are not critical, so feel
free to experiment if your component doesn't have the
exact value noted here. All components should be available
from a local electronics store. The new output jack we're
creating will provide the following features: composite
luminance, composite video, composite chroma and audio
output.
Figure 1 shows a suggested layout for the circuit board.
The small size of the board and the vertical mounting of
resistors are necessary because of the limited amount of
space within the 400 case. "We recommend using a glass-
epoxy "perf" board with point-to-point wiring. This cir-
cuit board comes with holes already drilled; buy the t)'pe
with 0.10-inch hole spacing. Try parts out for size and fit
before you cut the board.
SYNOPSIS
this article explains how to adapt an
Atari 400 for audio and I'ideo output.
The project involves wiring and
building a circuit board, so you
should be fairly experienced ivith elec-
tronics before undertaking it.
The layout of parts is not critical, but
you should try to keep leads as direct
as possible. Use 24-gauge, solid wire
for on-board connections. "Flea clips"
can be used to mount components.
These small, U-shaped metal clips are
pointed at one end, which can be in-
serted into the perf board. Integrated-
circuit (IC) chips should be mounted
in sockets.
AUDIO OUTPUT
Ul (Figure 2) is a CMOS hex buffer (high-impedance input
and low-impedance output), which is followed by a resis-
tive-combiner network. Ql and Q2 are emitter-follower
amplifiers; they provide current gain for the low-impe-
dance video outputs. U2 is an audio-power-amplifier IC.
Its audio output (approximately 1/8 watt) will drive a good-
sized speaker. An outboard potentiometer can be added
to control volume (250 ohms). Output can also be used
with the auxiliary input of a stereo system.
Ul (CD4050) is sensitive to static charges. For example,
if you place the circuit board on a sheet of aluminum foil
and touch the IC's conductive foam or plastic packaging
to the foil, one zap of static discharge will destroy the chip.
RG-174 coaxial wire can be used for the video outputs;
use stranded 24-gauge wire for all other lines. No heat sink
is required for the audio amp IC (U2).
INSTALLING THE BOARD
When you're ready to install the board, you'll need to dis-
assemble your 400. First, disconnect all cables and remove
any cartridges. Then turn it over and remove the screws
that hold the upper and lower halves together. Once this
is done, detach the keyboard and remove the large metal
"shielding" casting. This will expose the section of the
continued on next page
April 1984
67
main board to which your modified board will be added.
(Take careful note of where and how the pieces come
apart.)
You'll have to cut a slot in the rear of the metal housing
(in the lower left-hand corner, as viewed from the rear of
the 400) to create an exit for video and audio cables. We
drilled a 3/8-inch hole and then made two cuts with a hack-
saw to form a slot. Be sure to keep metal filings away from
the circuit boards, clean the housing very carefully, and
round off the corners of the slot with a file to protect the
cable's insulation. In addition, cut the three vertical ribs
in the plastic case (next to the T'V-channel select switch)
to provide an exit for the female DIN jack.
INTERFACE CONNECTIONS
Figure 3 shows the locations of the interface connections
on the motherboard. Care should be taken to avoid heat
damage to the board. (Tip temperature should be 700-800
degrees F. Solder only at the "pads"/component connec-
tion points indicated.) Be sure to adhere strictly to the indi-
cated locations, components, and sides for connections.
Do not change or reverse any of these connections, espe-
cially C 183 (the 5V-DC/ground connection)!
No further adjustments are necessary, and this new board
will not affect the RF output to your regular TV. Simply
use the composite-luminance output and ground for a
monochrome monitor and the composite video and
Your next issue of ANTIC
will be dated
There will be no cover date
for MAY, 1984, but
WE ARE NOT SKIPPING AN ISSUE!
We are just advancing the cover
date to facilitate distribution.
|The June issue will be Vol. 3, No. 2,
There will be 12 issues in the
volume.
Subscriptions will be adjusted
automatically.
Expect your June issue in mid-May.
ground for a color monitor Sound is supplied by the audio
output and ground.
ADDITIONAL PRECAUTIONS
To keep the board from shorting out, wrap it in black-cloth
electrical tape, rather than plastic tape. Make up a female
DIN plug connection (plug side), and then make connec-
tions to your new board. This will keep things neat. Also,
provide a "strain relief" that will keep you from pulling
the wiring loose when you disconnect the monitor cable.
We suggest that you use a good-sized wire tie around the
lines that go out to the female DIN plug, just inside the
metal shielding case. This will provide relief when the
external monitor cable is detached; the female DIN plug
(keep it short!) will take care of insertions.
While we're discussing "strain reliefs," note that in Figure
1 the lines leaving the board are on the top-outside row
of holes. This result is accomplished by enlarging these
holes slightly to allow insulated wire to pass through to
the bottom of the board. This keeps the connections from
being pulled loose.
Also, note (see Figure 1) that we've "notched" one cor-
ner of the board to help trace the circuitry. Where wires
join, a black dot is shown. A "jump-over" is indicated
where wires cross without joining; a hole is shown where
a wire passes through the board. If you encounter any
trouble in completing this modification, trace your circuits
using the schematics shown in Figures 2 and 3. They're
the "source" for the board shown in Figure 1.
COMPONENTS
Resistors: 1 @ Ik, 3 @ 2.2k, 1 @ 4.7k, 1 @ 9.1k, 1 @ 18k,
3 @ 20k, 1 @ 36k, 1 @ 40k, 1 @ 75k, 1 @ 120k, I @
220k and I @ 330k (all l/4w — 5%)
Capacitors: 1 @ lOOmf, 1 @ lOOpf and 3 @ O.lmf (5-16
VDC)
Transistors: 2 @ 2N2222
Diodes; 1 @ 1N4148
Chips: 1 @ CD4050 hex buffer and 1 @ LM386 audio amp
Miscellaneous: Glass-epoxy perforated board (4"x6"),
RG-174 coax cable (3 ft.), 1 @ 8-pin wire wrap IC socket,
1 @ l6-pin wire wrap IC socket and 1 @ female DIN
plug with boot.
See pages 105-107 for Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3.
Ji7n Lee and Dick Slavens are residents of Napa, Califor-
nia, fim is a design supervisor for the Bechtel Group, Inc.,
of San Francisco. Trained as an architect, he designs
refineries, chemical plants and nuclear fuel processing
facilities. Dick does telecommunications work for Pacific
Gas & Electric, also in San Francisco. He originally
bought his 400 as a game machine. Feeling constricted
by its limitations, however, he worked to improve his
machine. This article is a direct result of those efforts
68
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
-4 r. { •«.? ^
tk ii
( t t
3 V-.
» 1 ,
J { I
» 5
:3:
* * * t . u •
rii .• .^ .♦ 5 f' I J t
It i.." t .» .' ^ t «•! I
1 1
cmi:
wttwrc.
I i J- t - J .'f
•J^itw
1 ir i in a
*hr* .v.***** .**• « I
» t'
•^h v. '
• J. I-
This short graphics program
draws various patterns on the
screen. These patterns are gen-
erated by tracing a moving point
with straight line segments.
The motion of the point is deter-
mined by three numbers provided by
the user. These numbers are the rota-
tion angle (R), horizontal-variation factor (VX), and
vertical-variation factor (VY). R is a whole number between
zero and 359. (The program does not check for invalid in-
put numbers.)
R determines how many lines appear in the drawn pat-
tern. VX (any whole number) creates horizontal variations;
VY causes vertical variations.
EXAMPLES
If the numbers 10, 0 and 0 are entered for R, VX and VY
respectively, the resulting drawing will be a circle with 36
straight-line segments. The combination of 60, 0 and 0
This program runs on all Atari
computers, regardless of memory
configuration.
1:
creates a hexagon; 144, 0 and 0 result
in a five-point star, and so on.
The maximum number of line
segments possible in a pattern is 360.
This can be produced by entering any
prime number for R. When the value
for either VX or VY is not zero, the pat-
tern's shape will not be a circle. In-
stead, WHEEL will draw . . . who knows what? Try your
favorite numbers and see what happens.
By the way, WHEEL can be easily modified by using Atari
Graphics Modes 9, 10 or 11 — instead of Graphics Mode 8 —
to achieve interesting color effects.
Jungbo Yang received a B.S. degree in computer science
in 1978. He is currently employed by CitiCorp in Santa
Monica, California, where he develops software on VAX/
UNIX and other mini/micro systems. Jungbo recently
purchased an Atari 800 and is now writing enhanced
pattern-generating programs in Forth.
continued on next pase
April 1984
69
R=2
VX = 300
vy=500
R=7
VX=100
vy=200
R=1
VX = 200
vy=200
9B REM WHEEL
92 REM RY JUNGRO YANG
94 REM ANTIC MAGAZINE
100 DIM ANS$(1 )
200 GRAPHICS 8:? "COLOR
COL
300 SETCOLOR 2 , COL , 0 : S ETCOL OR 4,C0L + 1
4:SETG0L0R 1, COL, 12
400 COLOR 1 :CX«180:CYa80:DEG
500 PLOT CX,CY+70: INC»0
600 7 'R.VX.VY" : rINPOT ROT.VX.VY
800 INC=INC+ROT
850 IF VX«» THEN NX-I NT ( S I N ( I NC ) * 7 0 ) : G
OTO 1000
900 NX»INT(SIN(INC)*A8S(SIN(INC*VX))*:
9)
1000 HY»«INT(C0S(INC)*A8S(C0S(INC*VY))~
78)
1100 DRAWTO NX+CX,NY+CY
1200 IF NX<>0 OR NY<>70 THEN 800
1300 ? -MORE? [Y/N] -';:INPUT ANS$
1400 IF ANS$s-Y- THEN GOTO 200
1500 GRAPHICS 0
R = 2
VX=300
Vy=500
^mz-
-v^i
-S:i:.
R = 5
VX = 200
Vy = 200
:^^-
:-^
.::--*■.-
■Jill-
R = 7
VX=100
vy=200
R = 1
VX = 200
vy=200
70
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
An Important Bulletin
for Home Computer users
This is the only programming system you'll ever need
for your home computer.
If you own a small home computer, the
story we're about to tell you could be of
great help. It's about a revolutionary new
software programming system that will let
you and your entire family take full advan-
tage of that machine you bought. But first
things first, so here's a list of the home
computers this product was specifically de-
signed for: Atari 400, 600, 800, XL Series;
Commodore Pet, VIC 20 and 64; IBM PCjr;
TRS-80 color computer; TI-99/4A and the
Timex Sinclair 1000, 2048 and 2068. If you
own one of these computers, it would be
well worth your time to read further.
THE PROBLEM WITH
HOME COMPUTERS
As you probably know, the problem with
these small computers is how to get good
software into them. Keyboard entry is too
time consuming. Diskettes do the job well,
but the loaders are expensive and so are
the diskettes. Cassette loading is less
expensive, but the cassettes themselves
still aren't cheap and sometimes a program
has to be read again and again before it
actually is entered. Furthermore, few of these
software manufacturers guarantee their
product to run at all.
So unfortunately, a lot of these potentially
useful computers are relegated to just
game-playing or, even worse, they find their
way onto a closet shelf somewhere behind
the bowling ball or last year's magazines.
THE SOLUTION IS DATABAR SOFTWARE
Now, thanks to the engineers at Databar ^
Corporation, you can bring your computer
back to life. They have developed OSCAR
— which stands for an Optical Scanning
Reader. What it does is read a bar code
program in much the same manner as your
local supermarket reads the bar code infor-
mation on your grocery products. OSCAR
plugs directly into your computer, and can
read even complex programs extremely fast.
In fact, in a recent time test it took a grad-
uate computer programmer 1 hour, 9 minutes
and 43 seconds to successfully type-in a
program. To enter that same program, it
took an eight-year-old child with no com-
puter experience only eight minutes and
17 seconds.
With OSCAR, programming is also inexpen-
sive. The bar code programs read by OSCAR
are printed on paper, making the programs
inherently a lot less costly to produce than
cassette tapes or diskettes. And because
the programs cost less to produce, they
can be sold to you for significantly less.
But, just because they cost less doesn't
mean they aren't of the highest quality. In
fact, they are so good and reliable, we are
almost alone among software manufac-
turers to guarantee our product to run as
advertised.
Databar Corporation has already developed
an extensive library of programs ranging in
subject matter from non-violent games to
science, health, home management, writing
skills and more. These programs are readily
available at your local computer store and
they retail for under $10.
THE DATABAR CLUB
But amazingly, you can get great software
programs for an unbelievable $1 .25 each-
it you choose to join the Databar Club. Every
charter member gets 12 monthly issues of
the Databar magazine each featuring at
least eight great programs. In addition, this
family oriented magazine also features
articles on related subjects and computer
use in general. The subjects covered by the
software include; games, home manage-
ment, classroom learning, health, law,
science, writing skills, and computer pro-
gramming. What's more, Databar Club
members get a three-ring binder for their
software programs as well as eligibility for
exciting contests.
But whether you join the Databar Club or
purchase individual program packages from
your favorite retailer— OSCAR can dramati-
cally change the amount and quality of the
use you get out of your computer. And let's
face it: in the not so distant future much of
an individual's competence will be tied
up in how well he or she interfaces with
a computer.
This trial offer includes OSCAR plus the
premier issue of Databar magazine. OSCAR
is backed by a full 1-year warranty and if
you aren't 1 00% satisfied with OSCAR, then
you can return the unit within 30 days for
a full refund.
To order, credit card holders call toll free
and ask for OSCAR, or send a check plus
$1.50 for shipping and handling for each
unit ordered.
OSCAR with the premier issue of Databar
magazine can be yours for only $79.95. And
the premier edition of Databar magazine
provides all details necessary for joining the
Databar Club. So send for your OSCAR today
— and take full advantage of your computer
tomorrow.
DOptionI ($79.9S)ftt OSCAR -a professional
quality optical reader for easy programming of your
fiome computer in minutes, plus a trial copy of
DATABAf! Ivlagazine.
D Option 2 ($120.00) Ctiarter l^ember DATABAR
Club 1-year subscription to DATABAR Magazine -
Willi 8 programs every issue.
D Option 3 ($35.00 Q1) Same as Option 2 but pay-
able S35 per quarter.
D Option 4 ($240.00) t Charter Member DATABAR
Club 2-year subscription to DATABAR Magazine-
wilfi a FREE OSCAR, the industry's finest barcode
programmer.
DOption 5 ($10.50) Trial copy of DATABAR Magazine
-cfiuck-full of barcode programs.
*30-day money-back guarantee. fAdd $1.50 for
handling. ttMN residents add 6% sales tax.
Enclosed Check # .
Money Order # .
Payable to Databar. Or charge my Am. Ex. D Visa D
MasterCard D Carte Blanche D Diners Club D
Card #
Exp. Date _
Name _
City_
State _
Zip-
Phone .
My Computer Model is _
NiHiaoara-
Ditibir Corforation, 10212 Crosstown Circle • Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Plione Orders: MN (E12) 944-5700
Out-of-state: 1 (800) 672-2778
ELECTRONIC
l*^ BIRTHDAY CARD
Celebrate Antic's
second birthday
by JOHN SLABY
his program was written for
I my son's first birthday. Its pro-
gramming techniques include
' an ahered display list and use of
the real-time clock for timing music
routines.
Type in the program and SAVE a
backup copy. When you RUN it, you'll
first be asked for "OLD OR NEW
(O/N)?". If you type [O], the data in line
730 will be used.
If you type [N], you're prompted for
the recipient's name, age, sex, and
birth date. Then the program waits for
you to press a key before doing its
thing.
If you have a 410 or 1010 program
recorder, you can add a prerecorded
message to the program. This will play
while a gift wrapped package is
displayed on the screen. The message
can be up to 18 minutes long. Respond
with [N] to the Old/New prompt and
SYNOPSIS
1
This computerized birthday card
runs on any Atari system with BASIC
and at least 16K RAM. If you have a
410 or Win program recorder, you
can add a recorded message to the
card.
enter the necessary data. If you're
using cassette only, record the message
immediately after the program on the
tape. If you're running the program
from disk, record the message at the
beginning of the tape. Time the record-
ing in seconds and enter this amount
at the prompt. Make sure the PLAY but-
ton on the recorder is depressed when
you RUN the program.
If you have a friend who has an Atari
and a program recorder, you can send
him a Happy-Birthday-card tape with
a prerecorded message. Record the
message immediately after the pro-
gram on the tape, and ask your friend
to make sure that the recorder PLAY
button is depressed while the program
is running.
Divide the message time (in
seconds) by four, and replace the 0 at
the end of line 5 (TIME = 0) with this
quantity Change GOSUB 700 in line
72
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
10 to GOSUB 730. Replace the strings (in quotes) and the
number for AGE in line 730 with the appropriate informa-
tion. The proper sequence is: CSAVE the program, record
the message, make the program changes, rewind the tape
fully, and then CSAVE the program again.
Once the program has run, it can be rerun by pressing
any key. If a prerecorded message is used, the tape should
be rewound first.
John Slab}' is a chemical engineer by profession. He bought
his Atari 400 in 1981, programs in Atari BASIC and
machine language, and especially enjoys games and
graphics. Several of his programs have been published.
1 REM BIRTHDAY CARD
2 REM RY JOHN SLARY
3 REM ANTIC MAGAZINE
5 DIM NAME$(2B) , PRF$(2) , SEX$(4) , ST$( 20
) ,DATE$(20) :TIME=0
10 GOSUB 700:PGKE 764,255:? ■&:? "PRE
SS ANY KEY TO R U N . •
15 IF PEEK( 764 )=255 THEN 15
20 GOSUB 7000:POKE 7 64 , 2 5 5 : 0 UT=0 : G 0 S U B
5000:SETCOLOR 0,0,14:GOSUB 2000
25 GOSUB 1 000: SETCOLOR 0 , 0 , 1 4 : S E T C 0 L 0 R
1,3,6: GOSUB 6000
30 REM DRAW CAKE
35 POKE 765,1:C0L0R 1:PL0T 112,78:DRAW
TO 112, 40:DRAWTO 50,40
40 POSITION 50,78:XIO 1 8 , #6 , 0 , 0 , • S : '
50 REM DRAW ICING
60 COLOR 2:F0R S=40 TO 45 STEP 5:PL0T
50,S:DRAWTO 112,S:NEXT S:PLOT 50,60:DR
AWTO 112,60:PLOT 50,61:DRAWTO 112,61
70 FOR X=5 0 TO 110 STEP 10:PLOT X,42:P
LOT X+2,42:PL0T X+1,43:PL0T X,44:PL0T
X+2,44: NEXT X
80 REM DRAW CANDLES
82 GE=AGE:IF AGE>30 THEN G E=3 0
85 PLACE=62/ (GE+1 ) : P=1 1 2-PLACE
90 FOR 1=1 TO GE:COLOR 3:PL0T P,30:DRA
WTO P,40:COLOR 1:PL0T P,26:DRAWT0 P,28
: P=P-PLACE : NEXT I
99 GOTO 200
100 XIO 18, #6, 0, 0,"S:" :RETURN
1 10 TRAP 40000:GOTO 755
1 20 TRAP 40000:GOTO 925
200 REM PLAY SONG
205 RESTORE 300
210 FOR X=1 TO 50:READ V 1 , V 2 , V 3 , B E AT
220 POKE 20, 0
230 SOUND 1 , VI , 1 0, 8: SOUND 2,V2,10,7:SO
UNO 3, V3 , 1 0, 7
240 IF PEEK( 20)<BEAT THEN 240
250 NEXT X
300 DATA 81,96,121,15,0,96,121,3,81,96
,121,15
310 DATA 0,0,0,3,72,91,121,30,0,0,0,3
320 DATA 81,96,121,30,0,0,0,3,60,72,91
3 0
330 DATA 0,0,0,1,64,81,108,60,0,0,0,3
340 DATA 81,96,121,15,0,96,121,3,81,96
,121,15
350 DATA 0,0,0,3,72,91,121,30,0,0,0,3
360 DATA 81,96,121,30,0,0,0,3,53,64,81
,30
370 DATA 0,0,0,3,60,81,96,60,0,0,0,3
380 DATA 81,96,121,15,0,96,121,3,81,96
,121,15
390 DATA 0,0,0,3,40,0,60,30,0,0,0,3
400 DATA 47,60,72,30,0,0,0,3,60,81,96,
30
410 DATA 0,0,0,3,64,81,108,30,0,0,0,3
420 DATA 72,91,121,30,0,0,0,3,45,60,72
,15
430 DATA 0,60,72,3,45,60,72,15,0,00,0,
3
440 DATA 47,60,72,30,0,0,0,3,60,81,96,
30
450 DATA 0,0,0,3,53,64,91,30,0,0,0,3,6
0,81,96,60,0,0,0,0
500 REM BLOW OUT CANDLES
505 COLOR 1 :SOUND 0,30,8,1
510 PLOT 28,28:DRAWT0 24, 28: OR AWTO 22,
26:IF 0UT=1 THEN COLOR 2:G0T0 525
520 COLOR 0
525 PLOT 28,27:PL0T 29,28:DRAWT0 32,28
:IF 0UT=1 THEN GOTO 600
530 COLOR 0:FOR 1=0 TO GE:PLOT P,26:DR
AWTO P,28:F0R X=l TO 40:NEXT X:P=P+PLA
CE : NEXT I
540 0UT=1:C0L0R 0:SOUND 0,0,0,0:GOTO 5
10
600 REM CHANGE WORDS
610 RESTORE 620: GOTO 1040
620 DATA 64,64,64,64,64,64,64,64,64,64
,64,64,64,64,64
630 ST$=NAME$ : NAMES-' LET' S EAT CAKE":G
OSUB 1070
640 NAME$=ST$ : POKE 764,255
650 IF PEEK(764)=255 THEN 650
660 GOTO 20
670 END
700 REM INITILIZE STRINGS
710 ? "S":? "OLD OR NEW (0/N)":INPUT S
EX$:IF SEX$( 1 , 1 )=■ N" THEN GOTO 740
720 IF SEX$( 1 , 1 )<>"0" THEN GOTO 710
730 NAME$=" STEPHEN" :ST$=" FEBRUARY 6,19
8 2" : SEX$="MALE" :AGE=1:G0SUB 790:RETURN
740 ? "S":? "NAME OF BIRTHDAY PERSON";
:INPUT NAMES
750 ? "SEX (M/F )";: INPUT SEX$:IF SEX$(
1,1)<>"M" AND SEX$( 1 , 1 )<>" F" THEN 750
755 TRAP 1 1 0
760 ? "AGE ";:INPUT AGE
770 ? "DATE OF UPCOMING BIRTHDAY ":INP
continued on next page
April 1984
73
UT
78
79
80
HE
80
I)
81
81
:N
82
83
85
86
87
89
90
CO
T$
91
92
92
93
S
N
10
10
30
10
10
56
10
10
S +
10
69
10
10
10
SC
10
20
20
TA
20
EK
20
20
?
20
56
20
20
+ 1
20
1 8
20
20
20
20
ST$
0 GOSUB 790: GOTO 900
0 0=LEN( ST$ ) : ROT=0: CT=1
0 FOR 1 = 1 TO Q:IF A S C ( S T $ ( I , I ) )=3 Z T
N ROT=0:GOTO 815
5 IF ASC ( ST$ ( I , I ) )<65 AND ASC(ST$(I,
)>31 THEN GOSUB 860: GOTO 81 5
0 GOSUB 820
5 DATE$(I,I)=CHR$(ASC(ST$(I,I))+ROT)
EXT I : RETURN
0 IF CT=1 THEN R0T=128:G0T0 850
0 IF CT=2 THEN ROT=160:CT=0
0 CT=CT + 1 : RETURN
0 IF CT=1 THEN R0T=128:G0T0 890
0 IF CT=2 THEN ROT=96:CT=0
0 CT=CT + 1 : RETURN
0 ? ■&•:? ■■ DO YOU WISH TO PLAY A RE
RDED MESSAGE ( Y/N) ." ; : INPUT S
0 IF ST$( 1 , 1 )-■ N" THEN RETURN
0 IF ST$( 1 , 1 )<>■■ Y" THEN 9 00
5 TRAP 1 20
0 ? :? "WHAT IS LENGTH OF MESSAGE IN
ECONDS": INPUT TIME: TIME=TIME/4 : RETUR
00 REM MODIFY DISPLAY LIST
10 GOSUB 4000:POKE S T A R T + 8 1 , 7 : G 0 S U B
00
20 REM PRINT GREETING
3 0 MEMST=PEEK( START )+PEEK(START+1)*Z
: CHRPOS=MEMST+3200
35 RESTORE 1055
40 FOR X=1 TO 14:READ MES:POKE CHRPO
X+2,MES:NEXT X:IF 0UT=1 THEN 620
55 DATA 168,225,176,240,185,64,226,1
,242,180, 232, 164,225,1 85
60 REM PRINT NAME
70 Q=LEN(NAME$) : Z=(20-O) II
80 FOR 1 = 1 TO 0:POKE C H R P 0S+ 1 9 + I + Z , A
(NAME$( 1,1) )+32 : NEXT I
90 POKE 87, 7 :RETURN
00 REM MODIFY DISPLAY LIST
10 GOSUB 4000:POKE ST A R T-1 , 7 1 : P OKE S
RT + 2 , 7 : POKE START + 75 , 7
15 POKE START + 76 , 65 : POKE START + 77,PE
(560):POKE S T A R T + 7 8 , P E E K ( 5 6 1 )
20 POKE 87 , 2 : POSITION 0,0:? #6;'
EHJil " ; AGE ; PRFS
25 X=(20-LEN(DATE$ ) )/2 : POSITION X,l:
#6 ; DATES
3 0 MEMST=PEEK( START)+PEEK(START+1)*2
: CHRP0S=MEMST+2926
35 RESTORE 2050
40 FOR 1=1 TO 8:READ MES:POKE CHRPOS
-1 ,MES : NEXT I
50 DATA 226,169,242,180,232,164,225,
5
55 REM PLAY TUNE
56 READ AA,BB:SOUND 0 , A A , 1 0 , 1 0 : P 0 K E
,0
57 IF PEEK( 20)<BB THEN 2057
20
20
, 1
20
20
20
40
20
0,
20
X,
20
20
X,
21
21
21
30
30
PO
PE
40
40
K(
50
50
50
50
50
60
60
LO
TO
60
WT
2,
60
RA
PL
60
60
60
WT
60
60
60
0
60
T
RA
60
19
3
60
61
61
0
TO
58
59
0, 6
60
65
70
, 20
75
Y : N
80
36 :
85
90
A : N
10
20
00
10
KE
EK
00
10
56
00
1 0
RE
20
RE
30
RE
40
00
10
T
3
20
0
29
30
WT
OT
35
40
50
0
60
70
75
7,
80
29
WT
90
, 1
4,
95
00
10
10
1
SOUND 0,0,0
DATA 130,10
5,33,5,0
REM DRAW PR
POKE 87 , 7 : P
PLOT 120,62
: POSITION 4
FOR Y=20 TO
EXT Y
FOR X=4 0 TO
NEXT X
SETCOLOR 1 ,
FOR X=0 TO
EXT X
Z=Z-2 : A=A-1
IF TIME>0 T
FOR 1=1 TO
REM JUMP , AD
POKE START+
START+84 , PE
561 ): RETURN
REM GR . AND
GRAPHICS 7+
) *256 + 4 : RET
PR=AGE-( INT
IF PR=1 AND
URN
IF PR=2 AND
URN
IF PR=3 AND
URN
PRF$='i|iJ" : R
REM DRAW FA
COLOR 1 : PLO
2 , 1 5 : PLOT 3
, 24: PLOT 32
COLOR 2: PLO
2,28: PLOT 3
PLOT 33,29
COLOR 1 : PLO
32,35: DRAW
24,36: DRAWT
PLOT 7 , 34 : D
REM DRAW SH
COLOR 3 : PLO
, 42 : DRAWTO
IF SEX$ ( 1 , 1
REM DRAW HA
COLOR 0: PLO
6
COLOR 3 : PLO
1 3 : PLOT 28 ,
3 , 36
DRAWTO 12,3
:DRAWTO 25,
:DRAWTO 5,4
DRAWTO 1,35
REM DRAW HA
COLOR 2 : PLO
32:DRAWT0 1
,17: DRAWTO
, 0 : IF AA>1 0 TH
,100,10,80,10,
ESENT
OKE 765, 1 :COLO
:DRAWTO 120,20
0, 62 :GOSUB 1 00
62 : PLOT 80 , Y :
EN 2056
65,22,80
R 1
: DRAWTO
: COLOR 3
DRAWTO 9
120 : PLOT X, 46 :DRAWTO
4,6: COLOR 2 : Z =
Z : PLOT 75 + X, A:
:IF Z>0 THEN 2
HEN GOSUB 8000
500 : NEXT I : RET
DRESS AND LAST
82,7: POKE STAR
EK( 560) : POKE S
START
1 6 : START=PEEK(
URN
(AGE/1 0) *1 0)
A GEO 11 THEN
A GEO 12 THEN
A GE0 13 THEN
ETURN
CE
T 33,12: DRAWTO
2,16: DRAWTO 34
, 25 :DRAWTO 32 ,
T 28,27 :PLOT 2
2,27:PL0T 33,2
1 1 : A=19
PLOT 9 5-
090
: RETURN
URN
GR .2
T+83 , 65 :
TART + 85 ,
560)+PEE
PRF$="gn
PRFS-Qil
PRF$="|j|3
33 , 1 4 : P
, 24 : DRAW
27
9 , 28 : DRA
7 : PLOT 3
T 32,30: DRAWTO
TO 20, 35: DRAWT I
0 24, 46 : PLOT 6
RAWTO 7,41
IRT/TOP
T 2,56: DRAWTO
27,48:DRAWT0 2!
)=M' THEN 6 101
IR & EYE-GIRL
T 6 , 33 : PLOT 7,34: DRAWT
33, 33 :D
0 17,33:
,33
2,45: DRA
9, 56
10
T 27 , 1 4 : PLOT 2
16: COLOR 2:PL0
6 : DRAWTO 19,22
1 1 : DRAWTO 36,1
: DRAWTO 1,11
: RETURN
IR , EYE , AND EAR
T 4,31: PLOT 5 ,
2,28: DRAWTO 1 2
1 8 , 22 : PLOT 19,
8 , 1 4 : PLO
T 1 , 35 : D
: DRAWTO
1 : DRAWTO
-BOY
32 : DRAWT
,17: DRAW
22
74
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
15
20
4 :
30
T
1
40
26
00
10
DRAWT
DRAWT
DRAWTO
COLOR
13,23:
6, 1 7 : P
COLOR
, 1 7 : OR
REM T
GRAPH
2, 6: SE
0 19,17: DRAWTO
0 33,11: DRAWTO
9 , 4:DRAWT0 3 ,
25,11
33,6:DRAWT0 2
0: DRAWTO 4,31
1 : PLOT 16,24: DRAWTO
DRAWTO 13,18: PLOT 14 ,
LOT 17,18: PLOT 17,19
3 : PLOT 1 6, 21 : PLOT 27
AWTO 30,17: RETURN
ITLE PAGE
ICS 2 :SETCOLOR 2,0,0:
TCOLOR 1,12,6 : A=2 : B=l
1 4
1 7
24 : P
DRAW
1 9 : PLO
SETCOLO
2 : C=4 : N
61
61
9,
61
LO
TO
61
T
70
70
R
= 0
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
71
CO
7 1
71
71
71
N
8000 REM ALLOW CASSETTE TO PLAY MESSAG
20
30
40
50
60
80
90
00
LOI
1 0
20
30
40
POSIT
POSIT
POSIT
POSIT
POKE
REM R
FOR I
SETCO
3,C,
IF N=
IF N=
IF N=
FOR J:
ION
ION
ION
ION
752
OTATE
= 1 TO
LOR 0
#6
#6
#6
#6
by
Ha
Bi
Co
Ca|
J
|Py
li-l
hn
Ay
E r"
S I a by
,8,
N=1
6:SET
COLORS
40
A, 6: SETCOLOR 1
6 :N=N+1 : IF N>3 THEN
1 THEN A=1 2:8=4:0=2
2 THEN A=4:8=2:C=12
3 THEN A=2:8=12:C=4
= 1 TO 10: NEXT J : NEXT I : RETUR
E
8005
801 0
8020
8030
REM TIME IS IN UNITS 0
POKE 19,0: POKE 54018,5
IF TIME>PEEK( 19) THEN
POKE 54018, 60:RETURN
Va r
i a b I e
Line
1
50
1 10
330
450
630
760
870
1 040
2030
2075
5000
6035
6095
5140
7110
TYPO TABLE
Che
n urn
c k s u m
range
40
100
320
440
620
755
860
1 035
2025
2070
4010
6030
6090
61 30
7100
8030
F 4
2
8021
SECONDS
907689
Code
NJ
KO
PG
MG
WE
RQ
NF
CU
MN
FT
PW
JG
KH
XB
AK
LW
L e n
55
52
36
43
54
45
41
42
54
50
53
62
56
52
59
34
g t h
0
4
2
7
4
6
4
7
8
6
2
6
9
□
TBAKAT:02
$379
DOS
\nc1
.Double
printer
printer
OensitV
port
Buff®"
)unter
)Ob .Tracks"--
Muded .^Nr\tePro^^^'
PS/DP ^^^
AT-D4
KOALA PA[y^^~~
$75
Revolutionary
Touch Tablet is
a Video sketch
pad.
18W089 Holly Ave. or
Post Off ice Box 1088
Westmont.lL 60559
moa
MODEMS
• MPP-1000 $135
• Signalman Mark II $79
PRINTERS
• Gemini 10X $299
• Gemini 15X $469
• M-T Spirit 80 $329
• Juki letter quality $499
• MPP-1 150 Interface $83
MONITORS
• Amdex Color-1 $279
• Gorilla $85
PROGRAMS
Lode Runner $26.95
Chop Lifter $26.95
Zaxxon $26.95
Homeword $39.95
Encounter $29.95
Diskette Library case $2.49
Maxi-File holds 50 $19.95
DISKETTES
Plastic Storage
Box Included
10 per box
,y, SS/SD $16.95
SS/DD $18.95
DS/DD $21.95
1200 BAUD MODEM
$249
• Full duplex
• Bell 21 2A Compatible
'?S^
CHAMP JOY STICK
Pro-1000 $10.95
Pro-3000 $13.95
Pro-5000 $16.95
Full 2 year warranty
CALL TOLL FREE 1 -800-521-2624
In Illinois call 312-969-0930
9 - 5 CST
Weekdays only
For Fast delivery, send cashier's checl< or money order
Shippings. Handling: Hardware orders: add $10.00
Software orders: add $3.00
I L residents add 7% sales tax
April 1984
75
Tired of high prices, poor service and hidden charges
you get from other mail order companies . . .
Try RISING SUN SOFTWARE!
ENTERTAINMENT
ARTWORX
Strip Poker (D) $25,00
S,P, Data Disks 20.00
ATARI (ROM only)
Centipede $32,00
Defender 32,00
Dig Dug 32,00
Donkey Kong 35,00
Eastern Front 35,00
Galaxian 32,00
Joust 35,00
Missle Command 27,00
Ms, Pac-Man 35,00
PacMan 32,00
Pengo 32,00
Qix 32,00
Robotron 32,00
Space Invaders 27,00
Star Raiders 32 00
BIG FIVE
Miner 2049er (R) .... $35,00
BRODERBUND
A,E, (D) $25,00
Arcade Machine (D), , . 42,00
Choplifter (D) 25,00
Choplifter (R) 32,00
Oper, Whirlwind (D) . . . 25.00
Sea Fox (D) 21.00
Sea Fox (R) 28.00
Sky Blazer (D) 28 00
BUDGECO
Raster Blaster (D). ... $21.00
DATAMOST
Airstrike (D/C) $28,00
Bilestoad (D) 28 00
Mating Zone(D) 25,00
DATAMOST
Micropamter (D) $25,00
Pooyan (D/C) 21,00
Zaxxon (D/C) 28,00
DON'T ASK
Poker Sam (D/C) , . . . $20.00
SAM. (D) 42.00
EDU'WARE
Prisoner 2 (D) $28.00
Rendezvous (D) 28,00
ELECTRONIC ARTS
Archon(D) $28,00
Hard Hat Mack (D).... 25.00
M.U.L.E. (D) 28.00
Murder on the
Zunderneuf (D) 28,00
Pinball Construction
Set (D) 28 00
Worms? (D) 25,00
EPYX
Jumpman (D) $28,00
Jumpman Jr (D) 28 00
INFOCOM (disk only)
Deadline $35,00
Enchanter 35,00
Planet Fall 35,00
Starcross 28 00
Suspended 35,00
The Witness 35,00
Zork I 28 00
Zork II 28 00
Zork III 28 00
INTELLIGENT STATEMENTS
Pro, Blackjack (D) .,. $49,00
LIGHTNING SOFTWARE
Master Type (D) $28,00
MUSE
Castle Wolfenstein ... $21.00
ODESTA
Chess (D) $49 00
Checkers (D) 35 00
Odin (D) 35 00
PARKER BROTHERS
Astrochase (R) $35.00
Chess (R) 42.00
Frogger (R) 34.00
Popeye (R) 35 00
0 Bert (R) 35.00
Risk (R) 42.00
Super Cobra (R) 35.00
Tutankam (R) 35.00
ROKUN
Deluxe Invaders (R) . . $28 00
Gorf (D) 28.00
Gorf (R) 32.00
Wizard ot Wor (R) 32.00
Wizard of Wor (D) 28.00
SIERRA ONLINE
Crossfire (R) $25 00
Crossfire (D/C) 21 00
Frogger (D/C) 25 00
Mission Asteroid (D) . . 20.00
Sammy Lightfoot (R) . . 27 00
Ultima II (D) 42 00
Ulysses (D) 28 00
Wiz & Princess (D) . . . . 25 00
HARDWARE
DEALS
MODEMS
Apple Cat II .
$299 00
Micromodem
1 265,00
Micromodem w/term- |
inal prog. . .
, 295 00
212 Apple Cat
, 580,00
MONITORS
Amdek
Color 1
$299 00
Color II RGB .
. 599 00
Color III RGB
. 399.00
RGB Card ...
. 149 00
USI
Pi 1 9" Green
$119.00
Pi2 12" Green
. 149.00
Pi 3 12" Ambe
. 159.00
Pi4 9" Amber
. 129.00
Color 1400 ..
. 299 00
PRINTERS
C. Itoh
GX 100
$229.00
Prowriter ....
.399.00
Okidata
Microline 80.
. 349.00
Microline 82A
. 449 00
Microline 92 .
. 549 00
STRATEGIC SIMULATIONS
Battle for
Normandie (D/C).. $28.00
Battle of
Shiloh (D/C) 28,00
Combat Leader (D).,., 28,00
Cosmic Balance (D/C) 28,00
Cosmic Balance II
(D/C) 28,00
Cytron Masters (D) , . . . 28.00
Galactic Gladiator (D) . 28.00
Knights of the
Desert (D/CO 28.00
Shattered Alliance (D). 28.00
Tigers in the Snow
(D/C) 28.00
SYNAPSE
Blue Max (D/C) $25 00
Dimension X (D/C).... 25.00
Ft Apocalypse (D/C).. 25.00
Necromancer (D/C) . . . 25.00
Pharoah's Curse (D/C) 25.00
Shadow World (D/C) .. 25.00
Shamus (D/C) 25 00
Shamus (R) 32,00
Shamus II (D/C) 25,00
Survivor (D/C) 25,00
Zepplin (D/C) 25,00
THORN EMI
Hockey (R) $28,00
Jumbo Jet Pilot (R).... 35 00
River Rescue (R) 28.00
Soccer (R) 35 00
Submarine Commander
(R) 35.00
RISING SUN SOFTWARE
4200 PARK BLVD.
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 94602
(415) 482-3391
Ordtrlng kifonnatlon: We'll accept any form of payment— cash, personal check, money order. VISA/
MasterCard, of C.O.D. Send cash at your own risk. Add $2.00 for UPS shipping; $3.00 for Blue Latiel Air.
California residents add applicable sales tax, ALL orders shipped same day received. If we are out ol stock
on a particular item we will include a special twnuswith your order when shipped.
CALL TOLL FREE 24 HOURS (ORDERS ONLY)
(800) 321-7770 (Outside Calffomia)
(800)321-7771 (Inside California)
UTILITIES &
LANGUAGES
ADVENTURE
INTERNATIONAL
Diskey (D) $35 00
ATARI
Assembler Editor (R) . $45 00
Atari Basic (R) 42 00
Macro Assembler (R).. 68 00
Microsoft Basic II (R).. 68 00
PILOT (R) 60 00
DATASOFT
BASIC Compiler (D) . . $63.00
Lisp Interpreter (D) ... 70.00
Edit 6502 (R) 125.00
OPTIMIZED SYSTEMS
Basic A+ (D) $56.00
Bug 65 (D) 25 00
Mac/65 (D) 56.00
EDUCATION
ATARI
Conversational Languages
French (C) $42.00
German (C) 42 00
Italian (C) 42 00
Spanish (C) 42.00
Educator Kit 117.00
Inv. to
Programming 1 .... 18 00
Inv. to
Programming 2 23.00
Inv. to
Programming 3 23.00
Juggles House (D) .... 23.00
Juggles House (C) .... 18 00
Juggles Rainbow (D) . . 23.00
Juggles Rainbow (C) . . 23 00
My First Alphabet (D) . 27 00
Programmer Kit 53.00
Tough Typing (cass) . . 18.00
EDU-WARE
Compu-Read (D) $21.00
CompuRead (C) 15.00
SPINNAKER
Face Maker (D) $28.00
Hey Diddle Diddle (D) . 21.00
Kindercomp (D) 21.00
Most Amazing Thing
(D) 28.00
Rhymes 4 Riddles (D). 21.00
Snooper Troops 1 (D) . 32.00
Snooper Troops 2 (D) . 32.00
In Risky Rescue, you can play the part |^^^^^^^^^^^^^_l__^^__ hover at a constant altitude. If you
of a creature named Igneous. Your ^BB^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B push the stick forward, you are pro-
archenemy, Greedo the goblin, has ^k^m^K MMHpaii^^^^"*ii^^l pe^led upward. You need to push the
kidnapped your sweet baby Iggy and Bp'""||^^^^2Hli^2^iB^'?J stick each time you want to move up
holds him captive in his creepy caves. K i^-'^^^^^^^^^^HB^^^J^B one space.
He's put Iggy in a trance, and your only ■|J|Wjj|^^^^^^^^§'J|||^^^^^| Once you've saved Iggy, you start
hope of rescuing the baby is to get ^|BBi^^Zg^^?'!PP^^^^^^B another rescue in a new series of caves
medicine from three medicine pots ^^^^^^JBBBBBfcgMfcMg^^^J (the second screen). After the third
and then touch him. To get medicine ^^5^^^^^^S-^^^^^^B^^^fl screen, you start again on the first one,
from a pot, land on it. Meanwhile, ^^K^^^^^^^^glrV^^^^jgiH but Greedo throws his arrows at you
Greedo is throwing deadly arrows at ^^I^HI^^^^^^^^I^^HJ even faster and harder than before,
you. The best way to avoid them is After each successful rescue, your
usually to move up and hover while ||^H^^ flHH ^^^''^ ^^ increased (according to the
they fly by. Sometimes, though, there's ^ SyNOPSIS ^B level you're on and the amount of time
no room to maneuver, so you must use t^^ "'^ remaining). If you fail to rescue Iggy
careful timing to get through the tight Whis exciting arcade game requires before the timer runs out, you lose a
spots. LS-4.S/C7, a joystick, and I6KRAM(24K player and the timer is reset. You start
You control Igneous with a joystick, vbr a disk-based system). The program with three men, and you're awarded
To move left or right, push the stick }funs on all Atari computers. a new one at 50, 100, and 200 points,
in that direction. If you go off the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"^^" and so on. If you achieve a high score,
screen on one side, you'll reappear on the other. To move you're asked to enter your initials at the game's end. The
up, hold the fire button down and push the stick forward. high score -will be retained in memory even if you press
Pressing the trigger turns on a mechanism that lets you [RESET]. continued on next pase
April 1984
77
same of the month r
1 REM
Z REM
3 REM
5 GOT
100 F
THEN
105 T
■ " : I
110 1
OT OX
115 C
ST=PE
T=2 5 4
120 S
IF Y=
123 L
GOTO
125 I
130
135
140
145
150
GOTO
155 I
2*(X=
160 L
GOTO
165 I
170 I
0+MA*
175 I
180
200
LOR
205
TION
>11 T
210 L
HEN 3
215 L
THEN
224 N
225 H
THEN
227 I
,75 + H
230 U
LOR 1
233 I
TION
>1 1 T
235 L
HEN 3
237 L
THEN
RISKY RESCUE
RY J.D. CASTEN
ANTIC MAGAZINE APRIL 1984
0 500
OR Z=0 TO 1 STEP 0:OST=ST:IF Y=23
Y=2 2
=25-PEEK( 19) :POSITION 1,1:? #6 ; T ;
F T=0 THEN 275
F OXoX OR OYoY THEN COLOR 32:PL
,0Y:OX=X:0Y=Y
OLOR 162:PL0T X , Y : TR=PE EK ( 53264 ) :
EK(54016) :Y=Y + TR:IF SToOST AND S
THEN Y=Y-1:S0=5
O=SO-(SO>0) :SOUND 0,18.8,SO+1-TR:
OY THEN 150
OCATE X,Y.L:IF L=32 OR L=162 THEN
200+25*MA
F L=8 THEN Y=0Y:60T0 150
F L<47 THEN Y=OY:GOTO 150
F L>128 AND L<136 THEN 300
F L=169 THEN 400
F L=166 THEN 450
=X+(ST=247)-(ST=251 ) :IF X=OX THEN
200+MA*25
F X<0 OR X=20 THEN X=1 9-OX : Y=Y+1-
19)
OCATE X,Y,L:IF L=32 OR L=162 THEN
200+MA*25+P
F L=8 THEN X=OX:GOTO 200+MA*25
F L>41 AND L<47 THEN X=OX:GOTO 20
25
F L>128 AND L<136 THEN 300
F L=166 THEN 450
=USR( 1536) :6=G+1 :IF G=D/2 THEN CO
33:PL0T 2,7
F G=D THEN SOUND 1 , 8 , 6 , 8 : 6=0 : POSI
2,7:? #6;"GB- :SOUND 1,0,0,0:IF LE
HEN D=INT(RND(0)*(Z6-LE)+1 )*2
OCATE X,Y,L:IF L<>32 AND L<>162 T
00
OCATE OX,OY,L:IF L<>32 AND L<>162
OX=X:OY=Y
EXT Z:GOTO 350
=H+HP:COLOR 129:PL0T H.7:IF HP<I
COLOR 32 :PLOT H + 1 , 7
F H=4 OR H=13 THEN HP=-HP: SOUND 2
P*5,6, 1
=USR(1536) :G=G+1 :IF G=D/2 THEN CO
33:PL0T 2,5
F G=D THEN SOUND 1 , 8 , 6 . 8 : G=0 : POS I
2,5:? #6;- BB" :SOUND 1,0,0,0:IF LE
HEN D=INT(RND( 0)* (26-LE)+1 )*2
OCATE X,Y,L:IF L<>32 AND L<>162 T
00
OCATE OX.OY,L:IF L<>32 AND L<>162
OX=X:OY=Y
249 NEXT Z:GOTO 350
250 G>»G + 1:IF G=D/2 THEN COLOR 133:PL0T
2,3:C0L0R H:PLOT 2,16:DRAWT0 4 , 1 6 : H=4
0-H:COLOR H:PLOT 2,20:DRAWTO 4,21
253 U=USR(1536)
255 IF G«D THEN SOUND 1 , 8 , 6 , 8 : G=0 : POSI
TION 2,3:? #6 ;"GBr- : SOUND 1,0,0,0:IF LE
>11 THEN D=INT(RND(0)M26-LE) + 1 )*2
260 U=USR(1663) :LOCATE X,Y.L:IF L<>32
AND L0I6Z THEN 300
265 LOCATE 0X,OY,L:IF L<>32 AND L<>162
THEN OX=X:OY=Y
274 NEXT Z:G0TO 350
275 FOR J=100 TO 0 STEP
3:S0UND I , J+I , 10,8:NEXT
810:L=L-(L-32)*(L=162)
300 COLOR 32:PL0T 0X,0Y
X,Y:FOR J=15 TO 0 STEP
SOUND 0,0,0,0:
-1 :FOR 1=0 TO
I:NEXT J:60SU8
iGOTD 300
:COLOR 162:PL0T
-0.25:SOUND 0.
POKE 710,J+192
J+J.10, J
305 NEXT
710, 196
350 POKE 77.0:COLOR 32:PL0T 19,0:
0 1 7 , 0 : X=1 7 : Y=2 2 : 0 X=X : 0 Y=Y : C 0 L 0 R
F NOT W THEN 375
355 IF W>1 THEN FOR J=2 TO W:PLOT
,0:NEXT J
360 PLOT X,Y:FOR 1=0.5 TO 15 STEP 0
J:COLOR L:PLOT X , Y : W=W-1 : POKE
DRAWT
162:1
J + 15
#6
FOR J=0 TO 15 STEP
-J:NEXT J:POKE 710
365 G0SU8 810:POKE
OKE 20,0:GOTO 100
375 POSITION 5,7:?
TION 3,13:? #6;
380 60SUB 810:IF PEEK(53264
0
385
390
400
,10
I:SOUND 0, J*10,0,15
I+192:NEXT I
710, 196:P0KE 19,0:P
POSI
-0 THEN 38
IF PEEK(53264)
GOTO 550
FOR J=6 0 TO
15-J/4:P0KE
10:COLOR 8:PL0T
450 IF M<3 THEN
0 STEP -1 :SOUND
455 SC=SC+T*LE:
■■\ THEN 385
0 STEP -1 :SOUND 0, J + 60
53760, J:NEXT J:GOSUB 8
X, Y:Y=0Y:M=M+1 :NEXT Z
X=0X:Y=0Y:F0R J=1 5 TO
0, 10,6, J:NEXT J:NEXT Z
LE«LE + 1 :MA=MA+1 : POS IT 10
MA=0: 0=0-4
N 12,1:? #6;SC:IF MA=3 THEN
:G=D-1:IF D<1 0 THEN D=1 0
46 0 IF SC>=B AND W<4 THEN 8=8*2 :W=W+1:
FOR H=1 TO 5:F0R J=1 5 TO 0 STEP -1:S0U
NO 0,20, 10, J :NEXT J:NEXT H:GOTO 460
465 RESTORE 2000:FOR J=0 TO 61:F0R V=0
TO 3:READ N:SOUND V , N . 1 0 , 6 : NEXT V:FOR
T=0 TO 12:NEXT T:NEXT J
470 FOR J=165 TO 160 STEP -0.5:FOR 1=5
3761 TO 53767 STEP 2:P0KE I,J:NEXT I:N
EXT J:GOTO 600
5^0 ^RA^HI^ IT-Il"^! 559,0:U=USR(ADR("
h
78
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
I same off the month
) : A=PEEK( lB6)-6
505 FOR J=A*256 + 8 TO A * 25 6+1 1 9 : R E AD R:
POKE J,8:NEXT J:COM HN$ ( 3 ) , 0$ ( 1 2 ) : H=P E
EK(89)-1:F0R J=1536 TO ITIBiREAD R
510 POKE J,B+H*(B=1 OR R=2):NEXT J:HS=
PEEK(1790)+256*PEEK(1791 ) :FOR J=1 TO 3
rHNSlJj'^CHRtiPEEKiJ + iyseiliNEXT J
515 POKE 756, A:H=PEEK(560)+256*PEEK(56
1):P0KE H+6.134:P0KE 512,167:P0KE 513,
6:P0KE 54286, 192:P0KE 559,34
550 GOSUB 810:? #6;"S":P0KE 708,10:POK
E 709,150:POKE 710,196:POKE 711,52:IF
SC>HS THEN HS=SC:GOSUR 850
5 5 5 6^=1 9 : M A=0 : W=3 : 0=2 0 : S C=0 : L E=1 : 8=5 0 :
? #6 ;■•»•:? #6;"n-*. * -* . .":? #
6 ;"+*•* * * » » ••
560 ? #6;" **, * +*. **. +*,":? #6;" •
_ * * * * *-':?#6;" * * *+*, * *
* •'
565 ? #6:? #6;"-*. -. -* . -. - . -.* •
« * * ««*** *«-i-« * *****
> ^ ■
• * * * » * ■■
570 ? #6;"* * +, +*, +, +*, +,":? #6;"
by j d c a s t e n"
575 IF HS THEN ? #6: ? #6;-
••;HN$;" ■•;HS:POKE 1 7 9 1 , I NT ( HS/ 256 ) : PGK
E 1790,HS-256*PEEK(1791 )
580 ? #6: ? #6;" 11^^ HlliliHi" : ? #6;
IHIGH SCORE
585 U=USR( 1536) : FOR 1=0 TO 3:6=G+1:IF
6=0/2 THEN COLOR 133:PL0T 0,1
586 IF G=D THEN SOUND 1 , 8 , 6 , 8 : G=0 : POS I
TION 0,1:? #6;--BBr- :SOUND 1,0,0,0
595 IF PEEK(53264)=1 THEN NEXT I:GOTO
5 8 5
600 POP :GOSUB 810:? #6;"STIME LEVEL S
CORE-:? #6;- 2 S" : POS I T I ON 6,1:? #6;LE:
POSITION 12,1:? #6;SC:G0SUB 610+MA*50
6 05 M=0:X=17: Y=22: FOR 1=9 TO 75:S0UND
3,5,10,10:SOUND 3,0,0,0:GOTO 2 00+MA*25
610 ? ^6-"^******************,*M *
• *+^. •|^H**. -* , * • +
* * ^ — *^* * + +* — * " •
615 ? #6;'*ai ' * *ai-»*^
3H* . +*.***
4- * * * *
:? #6;"
+ . +."
? #6;' +***.":? #6;"
? #6;"H
+ * * *
1^
620
#6 ;•
* * *
625
+••**. +, +, — ••*.
630 ? #6:" *
fflH*. -'^H," ; :G=D-1 : RETURN
660 ? #6 ;■•—•••**.—***•***** ,
+ • . *^* , +, +•****
* +**^- ;
+ , ••■:?
-I- * * * — * ^* *
^ « * * :
+ •
+ • , * *ai-* .
6 65 ? #B ; • * * « ♦■■■■■■■■ana* *|yjj
+, +, +, *
670 ? #6;"*
^Q^m* * • * * • * * *^* _^* _ * *
, +, +.
675 ? #6;" .-• .-** .-
*******
* « * * «
* * — * * *yg
* +, +
+ .-*■■ ;
. +, +, +. +
'^ m
• I s
* * ^ * * * «
►13 ••
* *5n
* * « + * *
68 0 ? #6;-+!^.
*. -^n*^H," ; :H=4:HP=1 :G=D-1 :RETURN
710 ? #6; — ******************_ *[gj
* * **ai-***, *\^. * -^****,
-f****-)-*«** **"
715 ? #6;"naaa mnn na* *
* 0** * +[dddd* , +**,
" : ? #6 ;" +* .-* .-* ." ;
720 ? #6;"^B[***. +, +, +,
:? #6;" +*.-*.-.-*.-**. +,
+ . + . +, •**^H. *■■ ;
725 ? #6;"* +*.-**.-****, *, +
+ , * •* •****^S.
730 ? #6;" . * *+.*.....
*a|^*. *^D," ; :G=0:H=8:RETURN
810 FOR J=« TO 3:S0UND J,0,0,0:NEXT J:
RETURN
850 ? #6;"S--:? #6;" the score of the"
:? #6;" game you just played is higbe
St yet":? #6
155 ? #6 ;-- lilHiMJ HBIMII IMmi" : ? #6 ;"
a ■:POSITION 13,6:0PEN #1
,4,0, "K' : POKE 76 4,255
860 FOR J=1 TO 3:GET #1,K:? #6;CHR$(K)
;:POKE 1 786+J , K : HNS ( J )=CH R$ ( K ) : NEXT J:
CLOSE #1 :GOTO 550
900 DATA 255,60,36,231,36,60,255,0,186
,214,124,16,16,124,254,198,188,250,127
,112,60,120,251,254,251,120,124,62,54
905 DATA 246,103,197,61,95,254,14,60,3
0,223, 127, 0,0, 9, 6, 9, 6, 15. 9, 0,0, 196. 102
,127, 102, 196, 0,255, 128, 65, 34, 20, 8, 255
910 DATA 0,255,126,255,231.195,231.255
,126,255,191,255,251,223,255,255,117,2
55. 11 1,59, 127, 30, 29, 7, 0,255. 247. 126
915 DATA 220.180,248,232,128,3,7,30.47
,59, 119, 95, 250, 192, 240. 124. 248, 190. 250
,119,251
1000 DATA 104,160,255,185,127,2,201,19
9,240,14,76,18,6,169,0,153,127,2,136,2
08, 238, 76. 65. 6, 185, 147, 2. 201, 0,240, 26
1005 DATA 201,130,240,22.185,128.2,201
,0,240, 7, 201, 130, 240, 3, 76, 13, 6, 169, 199
,153, 128, 2. 76. 13. 6. 169. 199. 153. 147, 2
continued on next page
April 1984
79
Put a Monkey Wrench
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Cut your programming time from hours to seconds, and have 18 direct
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The MONKEY WRENCH II plugs easily into the
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• Renumbering basicline numbers
• Deletion of line numbers
• Variable and current value display
• Up and down scrolling of basic
programs
• Location of every string occurrence
• String exchange
• Move lines
• Copy lines
• Special line formats and page numbering
• Disk directory display
• Margins change
• Memory test
• Cursor exchange
• Upper case lock
• Hex conversion
• Decimal conversion
• Machine language monitor
The MONKEY WRENCH II also contains a
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of the 6502 microprocessor
MAE
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1010 DATA 76,13,6, 160,255
1 , 199,240, 12,76,82,6,169,
36,208,238,96, 185,148,1,2
1015 DATA 201 ,130,240,22,
,0,240,7,201 ,130,240,3,76
, 153, 129,1 ,76,77,6, 169, 19
1020 DATA 76, 77,6, 104, 160
70,169,0, 153,12,2,200, 192
,153,11,2,96,185,12,2,201
1025 DATA 153, 1 1 ,2, 169,0,
39,6,72,169,242,141,22,20
2000 DATA 60,96,162,193,6
53,0,0,0,53,0,0,0,60,96, 1
162, 193,64,0,0,0,64,0,0,0
2005 DATA 144,64,96,121,1
144,60,96,121 , 144,72,96, 1
121 ,144,72,96,121 , 144,72,
2010 DATA 72,91,217,0,72,
1 ,144.0,72,91 , 144,0,72,91
121,0.72,0,0,0,81,0,0,0,7
2015 DATA 72,91,128,162.8
1 ,0, 128, 162,0,0, 144,0,0,0
2,0,0.0,162,0,60,96,162,1
2020 DATA 193,64,0, 0, 0,72
,0,72,0,0,0,81 .0,0,0,81 .0
3,0,72,96,243,0,0,96, 162,
2025 DATA 8 1 , 0 , 243 , 0 , 7 2 , 0
162,0.60,96, 162,0,72,96,2
3,0,72,96, 144,0,72,96,162
2030 DATA 0,72.96,243,0.7
,96, 162,0,72,96,243,0,72,
144,0,0,0,162,0,0,0,243.0
,185,128,1,20
0,153,128,1,1
01 ,0,240,26
185,129,1,201
,77,6,169,199
9,153,148,1
,0,185,12,2,1
,20,208,5, 138
,193,208,8
153,12,2,76,1
8, 104,64
0,96,162,193,
62, 193,60,96,
,64,96,121
44,60,96, 121 ,
21 , 144,72,96,
96, 121 , 144
91,217,0,72,9
,121,0,72,91,
2,91,128,162
1,0,128,162,8
.144,0,0,0,16
93,60,96, 162
,0,0,0,64,0,0
,0,0,72,96,24
0,0,96,162,0
,243,0,60,96,
43,0,72,96,24
,0,72,96,243
2,96,144,0,72
96,243,0,0,0,
,0,0,243,0
TYPO TABLE
Variable
c h(
1 c ks um =
388847
L 1 ne
n um
range
Code
Length
1
-
125
XE
521
1 31
—
200
VD
519
ZfS
—
230
OR
509
233
—
255
JG
636
26f
—
350
og
569
355
—
400
MZ
575
45B
—
470
MU
577
500
—
550
OF
612
555
—
575
TH
543
580
—
605
RF
620
610
—
630
XJ
542
660
—
680
LI
571
710
—
730
VN
552
810
—
900
CW
517
90S
—
1005
MH
516
1010
—
2005
HU
604
2010
—
2030
LP
543
□
80
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
Chart Your Progress
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the toolbox
UPDATE DISKS
WITH NOTE AND
POINT
by JERRY WHITE
K^'
Atari DOS organizes data into sectors,
each of which contains 128 bytes.
Sometimes, when using data files, we
want to access a record directly,
without having to go through the time-
consuming process of checking each
record in the file in sequence. Using
NOTE and POINT, you can perform
what is known as random-access
updating.
To use NOTE and POINT, you must
first open a file (usually a data file). If
you want to determine the file's physi-
cal location on the disk, use NOTE X,Y. This returns the
current sector number in X, and the current byte within
that sector in Y. Use POINT to point to a particular loca-
tion in a sector, also with values for sector and byte. The
location that is POINTed to must be within the OPENed
file's bounds.
USING "TELEPHON" DATA FILES
This is somewhat different from the method used in the
TELEPHON program (ANTIC, Phone Book, February
1984), where we altered records by updating a string in
memory. The TELEPHON program stores all of your data
temporarily in RAM. Random-access updating allows you
to alter data directly on the diskette, as long as you don't
change the size of your data file.
In response to reader requests, this article and program
demonstrate how to use the NOTE and POINT instructions.
To use the UPDATE program, you need a data file generated
by the TELEPHON program from the February 1984 issue
of ANTIC.
A few words of caution are in order It is possible to
damage your data file if you enter the UPDATE program
incorrectly. Before using this program, format a disk and
use DOS option "O" to duplicate your "TELEPHON.DAT"
SYNOPSIS
This article shows how to use NOTE
and POINT to update data files on
disk. The program requires BASIC
and a disk drive, and works on all
Atari computers. You also must use a
data file generated by the TELEPHON
program (ANTIC, Phone Book, Febru-
arv 1984
file onto the newly formatted diskette.
If anything goes wrong, you can
always make another duplicate from
your original.
THE UPDATING PROCESS
We begin by opening our data file as
shown in line 720. Notice the auxili-
ary byte 12 in the OPEN command. If
it were an eight, we could only write
and create a new file. The number 12
allows us to read and write.
The routine that begins at line 210
reads your data file and creates an index by storing the start-
ing location of each record in two arrays. The variable RECS
is used as a record counter. Before we input each record,
we note its current location and store the sector and byte
numbers in the variables SEC and BYT. 'We then INPUT
each record, and display the record number, disk location
and record data on the screen. We also store the sector and
byte locations in the index arrays. Once the data has been
indexed in this way, we can alter as many records as needed
without rereading the entire data file, and without reading
the entire data file into RAM.
Since we now know where each record begins, we can
simply point to the desired record on disk, and then read
it into a string (RECS), as shown in line 330. We next make
the necessary changes using string manipulation, and
create an updated record in the string called WORKS.
When we're ready to write our updated information back
onto the disk, we simply point back to the original record
position as shown in line 550, write the data onto the disk
as shown in line 560, close the file, and then reopen it for
our next update.
FURTHER NOTES
There are more sophisticated methods of random-access
82
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
the toolbox
updating, but this one is tlie easiest to understand. To use
it, you must know the record numbers of each record you
wish to update. Therefore, it is very important that you
malce a note of each record number to be clianged. You
can do this as the program creates its index and displays
the necessary information on the screen. To stop the scroll-
ing and give yourself time to write down the desired record
numbers, press [CTRL] and [1] simultaneously. To continue,
just press [CTRL] and [1] again.
If you still don't understand how the program works,
study the program listing. When you read a BASIC pro-
gram listing, it helps to know the meaning of each variable
name. Meaningful variable names are helpful, but a few
words of definition also can make a big difference.
Chart 1 lists all variables used in the UPDATE program
and briefly describes each of them. To make these descrip-
tions easy to find, the variables are listed alphabetically.
String names are followed by a dollar sign; array names
are followed by an open parenthesis character. All other
names are numeric variables.
B' Chart 1 flHHH^^^Hi
^mp UPDATE Variable Descriptions
IV AREA$
area code
f BYT
byte number within sector
1 ByT(
byte-number array
1 EXCH$
telephone exchange
! FIRSTS
first name
f INLEN
length of string
LASTS
last name
1 PNUMS
last four digits of phone number
1 RECS
record data read from disk
1 RECS
record-number counter
1 RNUM
record number to update
L_. SEC
sector number
K SE<=(
sector-number array
r USERS
user's input from keyboard
1 WORKS work string for record update
Jerry White is an institution in the world of Atari com-
puting, and a long-time ANTIC Contributing Editor This
month's column inaugurates "The Tool Box," a new
department that will focus on utility programs written
in BASIC or for use with BASIC. Jerry will cover other
topics on an intermittent basis.
READ_TELEPHON.DAT,_AND_CREATj
SECTOR/BYTElLOCATION_ARRAYS_
100 REM NOTE & POINT DISK UPDATE
110 REM BY JERRY WHITE
115 REM ANTIC MAGAZINE
120 REM This program demonstrates
130 REM random access disk updating
140 REM using NOTE and POINT .
160 GOTO 600
1 80 REM
190 REM
210 RECS = RECS-H :NOTE #1 , SEC, BYT
220 INPUT #1 , RECS : ? : ? "Ij|*|i|jij ■ ; RECS ;
230 ? ■■ CTlilTiin -SEC;" |j|Au " ;BYT:? RE
C$
240 SEC ( RECS)=SEC : BYT( RECS)=BYT : GOTO 2
10
250 RECS = RECS-1 : POKE 752,0
270 REM lilJilill^Biliia
290 TRAP 290:? :? ' ENTER RECORD NUMB
ER TO UPDATE OR"
300 ? " TYPE 0 AND RETURN TO QUIT";:I
NPUT RNUM
310 RNUM=INT(RNUM) : IF NOT RNUM THEN 5
90
320 IF RNUM<1 OR RNUM>RECS THEN ? CHR$
(125):? " ENTER A NUMBER FROM 1 TO " ;
RECS :GOTO 290
330 POINT #1 , SEC(RNUM) , BYT(RNUM) : INPUT
#1 , RECS
34 0 LAST$==REC$( 1 , 12) : FIRST$ = REC$( 13, 24
)
350 AREA$=REC$(25,27) :EXCH$=REC$(28,30
)
360 PNUM$=REC$ ( 31 , 34 ) : ? CHR$(125)
370 ? "ENTER UPDATED INFORMATION OR JU
ST"
380 ? "PRESS RETURN TO LEAVE ITEM UNCH
ANGED"
390 WORK$=" " :W0RK$(34)=" ":W0RK$(2)=W
0 R K S
400 ? :? "LAST NAME: " ; L A ST $ : I N P UT USE
R S
410 INLEN=LEN(LAST$) : IF NOT INLEN THE
N WORK$( 1 , 12)=REC$( 1 , 12) :GOTO 430
420 WORK$( 1 , INLEN)=USER$
430 ? :? "FIRST NAME: " ; F I R S T $ : I N P U T U
S E R S
440 INLEN=LEN( FIRSTS ): IF NOT INLEN TH
EN WORKS( 13 ,24)=REC$( 13,24) :GOTO 460
450 WORKS( 13, 1 2+INLEN)=USERS
460 ? :? "AREA CODE: ";AREAS:INPUT USE
R $
470 INLEN=LEN( AREAS) : IF NOT INLEN THE
N W0RK$(25 , 27)=REC$( 25 , 27) : GOTO 490
480 WORKS ( 25 , 24-i-INLEN)=USERS
490 ? :? "EXCHANGE: ";EXCHS:INPUT USER
continued on next page
April 1984
83
the toolbox
$
500 INLEN=LEN(EXCH$) : IF NOT INLEN THE
N W0RK$(28 , 30)=REC$ (28, 30) :GOTO 520
510 W0RK$(28,27+INLEN)=USER$
520 ? :? -NUMBER: " ; P NUM$ : I N P U T USERS
530 INLEN=LEN(PNUM$ ) : IF NOT INLEN THE
N W0RK$(31 ,34)=REC$(31 , 34) :GOTO 550
540 WORK$( 31 , 30+INLEN)=USER$
POINT #1 , SEC(RNUM) , BYT(RNUM)
PRINT #1 ;WORK$
CLOSE #1:0PEN # 1 , 1 2 , 0 , ' D : T E L E P H 0 N .
550
560
570
DAT'
580
590
OSE
61 0
630
GOTO
GRAPH
#1 : EN
REM
DIM L
EXCH$(3) ,
640 DIM S
650 GRAPH
KE 752, 1^
660 REM
670 POKE
290
ICS 0:? :? ■BASIC
D
PR0GRAIV1_INITIALIZATI0N
IS'
CL
AST$ (12),FIRST$(12),AR E A $ ( 3 ) ,
PNUM$(4) , REC$(34) ,W0RK$(34)
EC(500) , BYT(500) , USER$( 12)
ICS 0:POKE 82,2: POKE 83,39:P0
POKE 710,160
DISABLE B R E A K K E Y
16,64: POKE 53774, 1 1 2
680 ? :? " TELEPHON.DAT RANDOM ACCESS
UPDATE "
690 ? :? ■■ INSERT TELEPHON.DAT DISK
THEN"
700 ? :? " PRESS miJJ WHEN READY
" : ?
710 POKE 755,2:IF P E E K ( 5 3 2 7 9 ) <>6 THEN
POKE 755,3:G0T0 710
720 TRAP 650:CLOSE #1:0PEN #1,12,0,"D:
TELEPHON.DAT"
730 RECS = 0:? CH R $ ( 1 2 5 ) : T R A P 250:GOTO 2
10
TYPO TABLE
Variable checksum = 494212
Line num range Code Lengtii
1 00 - 230 CB 341
240 - 370 EI 494
380 - 490 PU 476
500 - 630 VN 484
640 - 730 SU 501
□
UNLEASH
YOUR
mm:
SHAPES AND SOUNDS
FOR THE ATARr
Herb Moore
You only need a beginner's skills in Two S'/^
Atari BASIC to embark on an exciting
journey through color and sound.
Shapes and Sounds for the Atari is
your guide.
Shapes and Sounds for the Atari lets
you unleash your micro's sound and
graphics capabilities for stunning
results. Turn your Atari into a music
synthesizer that accompanies Itself
with brilliant, constantly changing pat-
terns. Create new computer games
the whole family will enjoy. Dozens of
sound and graphics routines on your
program disk can be expanded or
adapted to form a virtually limitless
library of kaleidoscopic effects.
ATAR!^ I.S □ registered Iradeinark oj Alari. !nc 10158
disks with documentation
for the Atari 400, 800, or XL series
with 32K minimum memory.
(0 47188547-9) $45.00
Look for Wiley Professional Software
at your favorite computer store.
For faster service
CALL TOLL FREE
1 800 526-5368
In New Jersey, call collect (201) 342-6707
Order code '4-1711
VISA, MasterCard, American Express
accepted on phone orders.
Or write Kent Livingston for further
information.
WILEY PROFESSIONAL
SOFTWARE
A division of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
605 Third Avenue W' W7 ^
New York, N.Y. % m 7
4 1711 PROFESSIONAL
Unlocking the power of computing
->(. SOFTWARE
84
ANTIC, Ttie Atari Resource
The opening screen of this game says
"Game Over." To play, just plug a
joystick into Port 1 and press the fire
button.
In Arena Psychotica, your player is
the driver of a small race car, which
is controlled by the joystick. Your ob-
ject is to clear as many waves as pos-
sible. To clear a wave, pick up all the
prizes that are scattered about the
arena by running your car over them.
Each time you pick up a prize, your
car's speed increases. Meanwhile, a
monster moves about the arena at ran-
dom, leaving a deadly, checkered trail.
If you touch the monster, his trail, or
your own trail with your car, you lose
a life.
Each wave contains one yellow dot,
or energizer. If you hit the energizer,
you'll turn briefly into a Gobbler.
While you're in this powerful form,
you can eat your way through the
F
SYNOPSIS
"
This very challenging arcade game
pits you, as a race car driver, against
iifl monster that leaves a deadly trail
behind it. The program runs on all
Atari computers, and requires I6K
(24 K for disk) and BASIC.
monster's trail, as well as your own.
You receive one point for each piece
of trail that you ingest. When you hear
the tone change in pitch, it means that
your energy quotient is almost used
up, and that you'll return to your
original form shortly.
For each 100 points you score, you'll
receive an extra car. At the start of each
new wave, an additional prize is added
to the total you must pick up. And
every fifth wave, a new type of prize
is offered. The game ends after the
completion of 24 waves. To restart,
press the joystick button.
Erik Wolpaw is a junior at Cleveland
Heights High School in Cleveland,
Ohio. ANTIC published an earlier
game of Erik 's. Air Raid 2000, in
November of 1983-
continued on next page
April 1984
85
bonus same w
9 REM ARENA PSYCHOTICA
1 REM RY E.F. WOLPAW
2 REM ANTIC MAGAZINE APRIL 1984
3 W=e:MA=3:D=1
5 GOSUR 200:GGSUR 700:GOSUR 600:PGKE 7
56, PEEK( 106) :GGSUG 800:GOSUB 400:GOSUB
300
6 POKE Z07,PEEK(88) :POKE 2 08 , P E EK ( 89 ) :
GOSUR 100:GOTO 1500
7 SETCOLOR 4 , 0 , 11 : S ETCO L OR 0,1,12:SETC
OLOR 1.3,8:SETC0L0R 2 , 0 , 0 : W=0 : GOSUR 10
0
10 POKE 1537,14:P0KE 2 04 , P E EK ( 89 ) + 1 : PO
KE 1538,75:P0KE 1539,1:P0KE 1541,0:POK
E 208,PEEK(8g)+1 :POKE 1791,10
12 POKE 1791 ,INT(RND(1 )*255) + 1
15 X=USR(1542) :X=USR(1684)
17 TI=TI+1 :TI=TI-2»(TI=3) :POKE 7 56, PEE
K(106)+8MTI=2) :FOR 1=1 TO 50-(T*3):NE
XT I
20 IF PEEK(1540)=0 AND PM=0 THEN 15
21 A=PEEK(1540):IF A=3 THEN GOSUR 3000
:GOTO 40
22 IF PM=1 THEN 45
25 IF A=1 OR A=4 OR A-1 7 OR A=100 THEN
1000
3 0 T=T+1 :N=N-1 : SOUND 2,115,10,15:FOR I
=1 TO 30:NEXT I:SOUND 2,0,0,0:IF N=0 T
HEN SOUND 1 ,0,0,0:GOSUR 100:GOTO 10
33 IF PM=1 THEN 15
35 SOUND 1 ,250-T*6,6,6:GOTO 15
40 POKE 1541.5:S0UND 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 : PM=1 : PT=3
0:POKE 1539,0:GOTO 15
42 IF A<19 OR A>25 THEN 15
45 PT=PT-1:IF PT<0 THEN POKE 1541, 0:PM
=0:POKE 1539,1:S0UND 2,0,0,0:GOTO 35
46 D=D*(-1 ) :SOUND 2 , 1 00+ ( D* 2 0 ) +4 0* ( '•T<
6), 10, 4
48 PE=PEEK(1540) :IF PE=0 OR PE=1 OR PE
=100 THEN 65
54 IF PE>19 AND PE<25 THEN 30
55 IF PE=17 OR PE=4 THEN 1000
60 GOTO 15
65 IF PE=0 THEN 15
66 IF PE=100 THEN PT=PT-5
67 SC0=SC0+1:IF SCO/ 1 00=1 NT ( SCO/ 1 00 ) T
HEN GOSUB 2500:MA=MA+1 iPOSITION 7,19:?
•CARS— ;IIIIA
69 POSITION 6,20:? -SCORE— ; SCO
72 GOTO 15
95 REM NEXT LINE HAS 42 SPACES
100 FOR 1=0 TO 22:P0SITI0N 0,1:? "
:NEXT I:S0UND 2 , 0 , 0 , 0 : GOSUR 300
101 POKE 752,20:T=0:POKE 1 54 1 , 0 : PM=0 : P
OKE 1539,1
102 POSITION 7,19:? " C AHS— ; MA : POS IT I 0
N 6,20:? ••SCOBE—; SCO: POSITION 2,21:?
p s y c h 0 t I G a
104 W=W+1:IF W=2 4 THEN 2000
C=INT(W/5)+51 :FOR 1=1 TO W
T(HND(1)*37)+2:Y=INT(RND(1)*16
TE X, Y,R:IF R<>32 THEN 1 19
=27 AND Y=7 THEN 110
TION X.Y:? CHR$(52+INT(W/5) ) :N
105
110
)+3;
112
1 15
EXT
1 17
120
)+3
122
125
X=IN
LOCA
IF X
POSI
I
N=W
X=IN
LOCA
POSI
FOR
T(RND(1)*37)+2:Y=INT(RND(1)*16
TE X,Y,R:IF H<>32 THEN 120
TION X.Y:? "#••
1=1 TO W:POSITION 1,0:? CHRS(5
2+IHT(I/5) ) :NEXT I:SOUND 1,250-1*6,6,6
:RETURN
200 DATA 104,172,2,6,173,120,2,201,13,
240, 66, 201, 14, 240, 82, 201, 11, 240, 42, 201
,7,240,6,173,1.6,76,13,6,141,1,6,173
205 DATA 3,6,145,203,200,208,2,230,204
,177, 203, 141, 4. 6, 173, 1,6. 24, 109, 5, 6, 14
5,203, 152, 141 ,2
210 DATA 6,96,141.1,6,173.3,6,145,203,
136, 208, 226, 198, 204, 76, 48, 6, 141, 1,6, 17
3, 3, 6, 145, 203, 152, 24, 105, 40, 144, 2
215 DATA 230,204,168,76,48,6.141,1,6,1
73, 3, 6, 145, 203. 152, 56, 233, 40, 176, 2, 198
,204,168,76,48.6
220 FOR 1=1542 TO 1662:READ X:POKE I,X
:NEXT I:RETURN
300 POKE 559,34
302 FOR 1 = 1 TO 18:P0SITI0N 0,1:? " $" ; :
POSITION 39,1:? ••$";:NEXT I:FOR 1 = 0 TO
39: POSITION 1.1:? " $" ;
305 POSITION 1,18:? " $" ; :NEXT I
306 FOR 1=3 TO 16:P0SITI0N 2,1:? -$--;:
POSITION 37,1:? ••$';:NEXT I:FOR 1=4 TO
16 STEP 2:P0SITI0N 2,1:? "I";
307 POSITION 37,1:? ■•1"::NEXT I
310 FOR 1=1 TO 18 STEP 2:P0SITI0N 0,1:
? " 1" ; :POSITION 39,1:? ■•1";:NEXT I:FOH
1=0 T038 STEP 2:P0SITI0N 1,1:? "1";
315 POSITION 1.18:? "1";:NEXT I:RETURN
RESTORE 425:P0KE D L+23 , P E EK ( D L+2 3 )
:FOR 1=1663 TO 1683:READ X:POKE I,
XT I :POKE 513,6:P0KE 512,127
POKE 54286, 192:RETURN
DATA 72,169,14,141,10,212,141.22,2
69,0,141,26,208,169.224,141,9,212,
64
DL=PEEK(56 0)+256*PEEK(561 ) :POKE DL
EEK(DL+3)+2:F0R I=DL+6 TO DL+23:P0
,4:NEXT I
FOR I=DL+24 TO DL+28:P0KE I,6:NEXT
400
+ 128
X:NE
405
425
08, 1
104,
600
+ 3,P
KE I
605
86
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
I bonus same I
I:RETURN
700 DATA 112,235,235,40,40.235,235,195
,195, 104, 195, 195, 235, 235, 40, 40, 235, 235
,88, 207, 207, 168, 168, 168, 168, 207, 207
705 DATA 56,243,243,42,42,42,42,243,24
3, 8, 192, 192, 48, 48, 12, 12, 3, 3, 160, 12, 12,
48,40,40,170,40,40
707 DATA 24,20,20,85,85,85,85,20,20
710 DATA 32,255,255,255,255,255,255,25
5,255,136,170,170,170,170,170,170,170,
170
715 DATA 96,20,20,64,64,64,64,20,20,12
8, 20, 20, 1,1, 1,1, 20, 20, 144, 20, 20, 65, 65,
65, 65, 0,0, 152, 0,0, 65, 65, 65, 65, 20, 20
720 DATA 168,130,130,0,0,0,0,130,130,1
76,5,5,60,12,15,12,51,34,184,60,60,255
,119,1 19,255,255,51
723 DATA 192,252,60,252,48,56,48,204,2
04
725 DATA 400,60,227,60,60,60,195,195,0
,800, 165. 165, 165, 165, 90, 90, 90, 90
745 DATA -1
750 POKE 106, PEEK( 106)-8:6RAPHICS 0:ST
=PEEK(106)*256:RESTORE 700
755 READ R:IF R=-1 THEN 762
760 FOR 1=0 TO 7:HEAD Z:POKE R+I+ST,Z:
NEXT I:GOTO 755
762 POKE 106,PEEK( 106)-8 :ST1=PEEK( 106)
*256:REST0RE 770
764 READ R:IF R=>-1 THEN RETURN
766 FOR 1=0 TO 7:READ Z:P0KE R+I+ST1,Z
:NEXT I:GOTO 764
770 DATA 112,235,235,40,40,235,235,195
,195, 104, 195, 195, 235, 235. 40, 40, 235, 235
,88,207,207, 168, 168, 168, 168,207,207
775 DATA 56,243,243,42,42,42,42,243,24
3, 8, 3, 3, 12, 12, 48, 48, 192, 192, 160, 48, 48,
48,40,40, 170,40,40
780 DATA 136,255,255,255,255.255,255.2
55, 255, 32, 170, 170, 170, 170, 170, 170, 170,
170
782 DATA 192,252.248,252,48,48,56,48,4
8
787 DATA 96,20.20.85,85.85,85.20,20,12
8,20,20,85,85,85,85,20,20,144,20,20,85
,85,85,85,20.20
788 DATA 15 2,20.20,85,85,85,85,20,20
789 DATA 168,0.0.40.40,40.40.0.0.176,2
0,20, 12, 63, 12, 12, 51, 34, 184, 60, 60. 255. 2
21 ,221 ,255,255,204
790 DATA 400,0,60,203.60.60.60.60,60.8
00.90.90,90,90, 165, 165, 165, 165
795 DATA -1
800 DATA 165,207,133,205,165,208,133,2
06
803 DATA 104,172,255,6,173.10.210.41.3
,201 ,3,240,53,201 ,2,240,65
805 DATA 201,1,240,33,240,0.169.100,14
5,205. 200.208.2. 230.206. 177
810 DATA 205,208.17.169,50,24,145,205,
165, 205, 133, 207, 165, 206, 133. 208. 152. 14
1 ,255
815 DATA 6,96.169,100.145.205,136.208,
227, 198, 206, 7 6,188,6,169,100
820 DATA 145.205,152,24,105,40,144,2,2
30,206, 168,76,188,6.169,100
825 DATA 145,205,152,56,233,40,176,2,1
98,206, 168,76,188,6
840 RESTORE 800:FOR 1=1684 TO 1789:REA
D X:POKE I,X:NEXT I:RETURN
1000 MA=MA-1 :GOSUB 1600:IF MA=0 THEN 1
5 0 0
1005 W=W-1:GDSUB 100: GOTO 10
1500 POKE 559,34:S0UND 1 , 0 . 0 , 0 : POSITI 0
N 6,19:P0KE 77,128:? "GAIIIIE OVER":IF ST
RIG(0)=1 THEN 1500
1505 SCO=0:MA=3 :POKE 77,0:GOTO 7
1600 FOR 1=44 TO 0 STEP -1:S0UND 1,20+
I*2,8,10:SETCOLOR 1,0,1 1-1 NT(I/4):SETC
OLOR 2,0,1 1-INT(I/4) :NEXT I
1605 SOUND 1 ,75,8, 15: ICR=0.79+6/100:Vl
=15: V2=15:V3=15
1610 R=INT(RND( 1 )*15)+1 :SETCOLOR 1,3,R
:SETCOLOR 2,3.R:S0UND 0 , 2 0 . 8 . V 1 : SOUND
2 4 0 8 V 2
1615'SOUND 3,70,8,V3:V1=V1*ICH:V2=V2*(
ICR+0.05) :V3=V3* (ICR+0.08) :IF V3>1 THE
N 1610
1620 POKE 559,0:FOR 1=0 TO 3:S0UND 1,0
,0,0:NEXT I:SETCOLOR 1 . 3 . 8 : SETCO L OR 2.
0.0:RETURN
2000 POSITION 1.19:? " lUililIillllHlliliil"
:POSITION 3.20:? "YOU HAVE WON--:GOTO 1
5 0 0
2500 DATA 108.15,1,1,108,15,1,1,108,7,
128,25,144,25,162,25,1,15.81.15.0,0
2505 RESTORE 2500
2510 READ X.Y:IF X=0 THEN SOUND 2.0.0.
0 ' R E T U R N
2520 SOUND 2.X.10,15:FOR 1=1 TO Y:NEXT
I:GOTO 2510
3000 DATA 81,10,1,1,81,10.1,1,81,10.1,
1 ,81 ,20,91 ,45,96. 10.81 .50. 0. 0
3005 RESTORE 3000
3010 READ X,Y:IF X=0 THEN RETURN
3020 SOUND 1 ,X, 10,15:FOR 1=1 TO Y:NEXT
I :GOTO 3010
7301 DATA 486,130.130.0,0,0,0,130,130,
494, 5, 5, 60, 12, 15, 12. 51. 34, 502, 60, 60, 25
5,119,119, 255, 255, 51
continued on page 102
April 1984
87
microscreens
"Jim," a self-portrait by Jim
Hood, is one of the most
accomplished microscreens
we've seen to date. To pro-
duce the drawing, a slide
was projected onto the TV
screen and traced. Embellish-
ments were then made
with Micro-Painter. This is
Jim's second published
microscreen.
"Greece," by Chyrene
Pendleton, constitutes
another second appearance
in Microscreens. This stark
but evocative scene was
also executed with Micro-
Painter.
"Ancient Civilization," by
Edward Bever, was also
drawn with Micro-Painter.
Edward submitted a series
of eight sketches that show
the picture's developmental
path. The background was
laid down first, then details
were added. Edward also
writes product reviews for
ANTIC.
88
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
Make art with
your Atari!
Create a microscreen with
your Atari computer and
see it pubiislied in ANTIC!
Many techniques exist, in-
cludins the use of commer-
cial products such as
Micro-Painter, Graphic
Master, PAINT, Fun With
Art and Drawit? Or you
may want to use Keystroke
Artist, a graphics utility pro-
gram that appeared in the
August 1983 issue of ANTIC.
Send your creations to
Microscreens, care of
ANTIC, on disk, and accom-
pany them with loading
instructions and a short
biographical note about
yourself. Good luck!
*Micro-Painter and Graphic
Master are products of
DataSoft, 9421 Winnetka
Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311.
PAINT is a product of Atari,
Inc. Fun With Art is a prod-
uct of Epyx, 1043 Kiel
Court, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.
Drawit is a product of AFX
(Atari Program Exchange),
P.O. Box 3705, Santa Clara,
CA 95055.
i:
^. M k A
•1 %y/ii J im
^IL
wfVitfH^JT
Did you know that the
Atari Computers are the Official
home computers of the
1984 SUMMER OLYMPICS?
Well, what are you going to
do about it?
Exercise your Atari and your brain.
Show us your Stuff!
If it is truly Olympian, we will print
your article, program, game or art in
^r ^^ The ATARI Resource
ATARI
April 1984
.-^M
89
assembly languase
PAST PAGE
SIX
Safe storage areas for
machine-language subroutines
Page Six is an area of RAM (decimal
I536-I79I) in all Atari computers that
was set aside for use by the program-
mer. It's special because it's protected
— under most circumstances, the
computer's other operations won't af-
fect what's there. Dozens of utilities
and subroutines have been written for
Page Six. Unfortunately, it only con-
tains 256 bytes, so room is limited.
If you need more space, the standard
procedure is to move MEMLO (the
beginning of the memory that is
available to you for BASIC program-
ming) higher, and fit the additional
program(s) below this BASIC user
space. The disadvantage of this pro-
cedure is that it takes memory space
away from your BASIC program. Also,
initialization and RESET routines must
be handled correctly or the added
code will be lost.
My technique allows those of you
with DOS 2.0s systems to add many
extra programs and/or routines. These
will be protected from the Operating
System, and will be unaffected by
RUN, NE"W, and pressing [SYSTEM
RESET].
STORING ROUTINES
IN DOS RAM
The Disk Operating System (DOS) is
nothing more than a collection of
machine-language routines that per-
form functions such as reading the disk
directory, coordinating disk input and
by VERN MASTEL
SYNOPSIS
The techniques and memory loca-
tions referred to in this article pertain
<))Hy to Atari DOS 2. OS, which is by far
the most widely used form of DOS for
Atari computers. Do not use tijese
techniques with any other type of DOS
a'.}^., OS/A+, DOS XL, DOS 30, etc.).
output, and handling files. Some rou-
tines are used heavily, some hardly at
all. Simply put, my technique locates
routines in little-used areas of DOS
RAM when you don't have enough
room for them in Page Six. However,
you must be very careful when you
choose locations in DOS for your
routines.
SPECIFIC LOCATIONS
Locations 3033 to 3741 (decimal) con-
tain the XIO routines that are used by
BASIC to perform certain DOS func-
tions. A total of 708 bytes are available
here. However, if you use this space to
store routines and then call DOS, you
won't be able to use functions such as
Rename, Lock, and Unlock, because
the routines will have been overwrit-
ten. To avoid this problem, you can
selectively overwrite the XIO routines
you won't have any need for. You can
find the source code for these routines
in Inside Atari DOS by Bill Wilkinson.
Locations 5947 to 6043 contain the
routine that creates MEM.SAV. There
are 96 bytes here — enough to store
a lot of short routines. And you'll never
miss MEM.SAV.
Locations 6781 to 7419 contain the
data and disk-drive buffers. Here you
begin to tread on thin ice, because
these buffers are used in various com-
binations, depending on which func-
tion of DOS is being used. Make sure
that everything operates properly
before committing your program to us-
ing this area. Otherwise, you may find
that your "squatter" program has been
evicted by the Operating System.
FINAL NOTES
"Squatter" programs are usually un-
affected by events within the Operat-
ing System. If you write DOS files to
disk when a "squatter" is resident, the
program is written right along with
DOS. If you boot that disk, the "squat-
ter" is loaded back into its proper
place, and can be accessed as before.
If you wish to relocate routines from
Page Six to DOS, you may need an as-
sembler. Non-relocatable programs
must be reassembled at their new
location.
Vern Mastel is the manager of a Team
Electronics store in Bismarck, North
Dakota, where he sells computers and
related equipment. His favorite pas-
time is writing programs for the
Atari. Q
90
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
beyond the basics I
PRINTERS AND
SPOOLERS
The more you spend, the more you save . . ,
As a professional programmer, your
basic product is your time. The effi-
ciency with which you use that time
determines the number of jobs you can
complete in a given period, which, in
turn, determines your income, "^bur
time is valuable — you cannot afford
to waste it.
When we recommend certain time-
saving accessories to fellow program-
mers, some of them are horrified at the
cost. However, when you program for
a living nearly anything that increases
your efficiency is cost-effective.
SAVE BY SPENDING
For example, the most expensive item
that we recommend as a programming
tool is the Corvus hard disk with 10
megabytes of storage capacity. It costs
S30()0, but it runs ten times faster than
the Atari 810 and stores 128 times as
much data.
Think of S3000 as 100 hours, or
two-and-a-half weeks of your time, at
S30 per hour. In one year, you'll save
considerably more than 100 hours by
using the Corvus. After all, in the
course of a typical game's develop-
ment hundreds of assemblies are ac-
complished, and each of these is
delayed if it has to wait for access to
a floppy disk. The Corvus can pay for
itself by saving you that 100 hours of
waiting for disk access.
A NEED FOR PRINTING SPEED
N'ow let's look at printers, with speed
as our primary criterion. Think of the
by DAVID and SANDY SMALL
number of times you've had to sit and
wait impatiently for a printout to finish
being printed. We used to waste a lot
of time just watching the print head do
its thing, because there was nothing
else we could do. The computer was
tied up, and besides, we couldn't tell
what else needed to be done until we'd
seen the hard copy.
THE OKIDATA'S
ADVANTAGES
We recently decided that we needed
a faster printer than our trusty, but rela-
tively slow, Epson MX-80. We ended
up with an Okidata Microline 84, for
the following reasons:
• It's a 132-column printer. Most
assembler listing lines exceed 80
columns, especially if the program is
adecjuately commented.
• The Okidata's speed is 200 char-
acters per second (cps), and it features
bi-directional seeking.
• It has a fast linefeed. This feature
deserves further explanation, since it's
the main reason that we didn't simply
buy a faster Epson.
If you listen to an Epson while it's
printing, you'll hear a "zzt," a pause,
a "zzt," another pause, and so on. The
"zzt " sound accompanies the printing
process while the pause indicates that
the Epson is slowly advancing the
paper. It actually takes it longer to
advance the paper than to print a line!
The Okidata, on the other hand,
produces a sound more like "zzt-zzt-
zzt." It feeds the paper very quickly.
So while the Okidata is rated at 200
cps, and the Epson FX-80 at 160 cps,
the real difference between the two is
much greater than 40 cps.
• The Okidata's correspondence-
quality printing looks very good. To
achieve this effect, it overprints each
line several times, which fills in the
gaps between the dots. Keep in mind
that a true daisywheel printer in this
price range (about $1000) prints very
slowly — about 10 cps. The Okidata's
correspondence mode, on the other
hand, works at 50 cps.
• The Okidata has a friction feed for
non-tractor paper, such as letterhead.
The MX-80 only handles tractor-fed
paper.
These considerations were the most
important ones for us in choosing our
office printer. We've never regretted
the decision or the SIOOO we spent for
the Okidata.
THE ATR 8000
Our next goal was to free up the com-
puter during the printing process. Nor-
mally, you cant do anything with the
computer until a printout has been
finished. But by attaching a device
known as a spooler between the com-
puter and the printer, you can start to
use the computer almost immediately
after beginning to print.
The ATR-8000, along with its many
other capabilities, can act as a printer
buffer. When you start to print, the
continued on next page
April 1984
91
SEEKS
AUTHORS
for
BOOKS
SOFTWARE
A4AGAZINE
ARTICLES
Flat rate
or Royalty
Prompt
Response
For details, send
self-addressed
stamped envelope to:
AUTHOR INFO
Vo ANTIC
524 Second Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
beyond the basics
ATR accepts data from the computer
at about 960 characters per second —
or as fast as the computer can trans-
mit it through the serial port . The ATR
stores the data in its own memory.
Meanwhile, a second driver in the ATR
begins to dump its memory to the
printer. Thus, ATR acts like a dam, fill-
ing at 960 cps and draining at 200 cps.
The 64K ATR can hold 52,000 charac-
ters, while the I6K ATR holds about
12,000.
Once the Atari has finished sending
data to the ATR, you can use the com-
puter to do something else while the
ATR continues to print automatically.
If your text exceeds the buffer's size,
you'll have to wait until 52K or less re-
main to be printed, but at least you
won't have to wait for the entire
printout.
OTHER FACTORS
There are other spoolers on the
market. However, none of them can
match the ATR's many capabilities at
the same price, which is why we
recommend the ATR so strongly. Also,
if you're looking for a printer interface,
you should consider the ATR before
purchasing an 850. It'll cost you more
money, but you'll be much happier
with the ATR in the long run.
Our cost for ail of this equipment
was about $1500, which is equivalent
to about 50 hours of programming
time. But by using the ATR and the
Okidata in combination we easily
saved that much in only one month of
heavy use.
Epson printers have a strong repu-
tation for durability and reliability. The
Okidata matches this standard easily.
In over a year of heavy use, it has never
failed us. In fact, we found the
Okidata's tractor feed to be slightly
superior to that of the MX-80, because
it is more trouble-free. The Okidata's
only drawback is that it's rather noisy.
If you can do so, it's best to keep it in
a separate area, where the noise won't
disturb you. One final tip: when the
Okidata's ribbons wear out, insert a
half-twist on either end and use the
bottom, fresh part of the ribbon. This
will double the ribbon's useful life.
ON A BUDGET?
If SI5OO is a little more than your
budget can handle, we can recom-
mend some lower-priced alternatives.
The Okidata 92 printer, which retails
for $595, offers 80 columns (132 in
condensed mode) and prints at I6O
cps. Again, it's effectively much faster
than the Epson FX-80 (also rated at I6O
cps), because of the faster paper feed.
The 92 also has a very nice correspon-
dence-quality mode.
In terms of interfaces and printer
buffers, we still strotigly recommend
the ATR-8000, despite the expense. In
the application noted above, the ATR
was used only as a printer interface and
spooler, but it can be expanded in so
many different ways that it is an excel-
lent investment for your system. If you
cannot afford the 64K model ($500),
get the 16K model ($350) and upgrade
it when you can.
We hope you enjoyed this month's
column. Please write to "Beyond the
Basics" (formerly "Systems Guide"),
in care of ANTIC, if you have any ques-
tions or suggestions. We enjoy hearing
from you, and have learned a great deal
from your letters. Please don't be
offended if it takes us some time to
answer; it's difficult to respond to all
of the mail that comes in, but we do
try.
David and Sandy Small are profes-
sional programmers who work exten-
sively with Atari computers and
Atari-compatible peripherals and
software to produce cotnfnercial soft-
ware for the Atari. In Beyond the
Basics (formerly Systems Guide), they
share discoveries, insights, exper-
iettces and secrets of prof essional pro-
gramming that should be of interest
to others who are at or near their level
of practice.
92
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
product reviews
BRISTLES
First Star Software
22 East 41st St.
New York, NY 10017
(212) 532-4666
S29.95, 32K — cassette & disk
Reviewed by George Adamson
If you've got a burning desire to paint
your walls, but don't want to clean up
messy rollers or spilled paint, Bristles
might be the game for you.
In Bristles, you control a painter
whose task is to paint eight different
houses in each of six skill levels — a
total of 48 structures. You start with
10 brushes, and must race a clock to
finish painting each house. To move
between the different levels, you can
It doesn't get
faster in higher
levels. Instead,
Bristles offers
more novel
challenges.
either climb a ladder or ride an ele-
vator. But be careful not to get caught
in an open elevator shaft, or you'll be
sent to the bottom of the shaft to start
over. If you successfully finish a paint-
ing job, you receive two extra brushes.
Don't stand back to admire your
work, or you'll be knocked down by
"flying half pints" and "dumb buck-
ets," among other dangerous objects
that hinder your task and steal your
brushes. You also have to contend with
"Brenda the Brat," who delights in
planting handprints all over your
freshly-painted walls. Fortunately, she
can be pacified with a candy cane and
distracted just long enough for you to
repair the damage. But your arch-
enemy is the Bucket Chucker. He never
stops chasing you, but you can trap
him temporarily in — believe it or not
— a paint mixer.
After each house is painted, a word
or two appear. Complete an entire
level, and the words form a message.
The messages from all six levels com-
bine to form a challenge that can only
be met by the most persistent of
gamers.
This game's action is fast and
furious. It doesn't get faster in higher
levels, though. Instead, Bristles offers
more novel challenges, such as paint-
ing with varnish (it's invisible!), paint-
ing in the dark with only sound to
guide you, and having to refill brushes
when they run dry. Musical selections
from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker create
an appropriate, if somewhat frantic
atmosphere for this unique game.
FORTRESS
Strategic Simulations, Inc.
883 Stierlin Road, Building A-200
Mountain View, CA 94043-1983
(415) 964-1353
$34.95, 40K — disk
Reviewed by Edward Bever
You press the joystick button, and a
castle appears in the cursor's square.
Flags register your redoubt's control of
the horizontally and vertically adja-
cent areas. Your opponent responds by
placing a fortification diagonally adja-
cent. Two enemy flags appear on its far
side; your two flags that are now next
to both castles disappear Whether you
contest his effrontery by building your
next castle nearby or concentrate in-
stead on staking claim to as wide an
area as possible, what follows will be
a challenging battle of wits in which
you alternate with your opponent
building and reinforcing your castles.
The object of the struggle is to
establish control over a majority of the
squares in a six by six grid.
Whenever two or more hostile
castles occupy horizontally or verti-
cally adjacent squares, the weaker one
is eliminated. Because the attacker
must have one strength point more
than the defender, castles are easier to
build than destroy. As the game pro-
gresses, the players solidify their con-
trol over most of the board while try-
ing to bring superior power to bear on
disputed squares. A game of Fortress
lasts twenty-one turns, and whoever
controls the most real estate at the end
wins. A typical game takes only ten or
fifteen minutes; tournaments of
fifteen-game sets can continue for
hours.
Fortress is good entertainment at
parties, yet it rewards serious study as
well. Two people can play against each
other, or you can take on the com-
puter. While two-person games are fun
and can be quite challenging, the
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solitaire version is clearly the pro-
gram's centerpiece. You can choose
between five opponents of differing
skill levels and styles of play. These
artificial intelligences actually learn
from playing against you, and can be
saved on disk to fight again. Hence,
solitaire games usually are close
matches. Novices and young children
can enjoy playing against an opponent
whose skill and intelligence begin as
a blank slate, while strategy game
fanatics will be hard put to best an op-
ponent that has honed its skills over
the course of almost nine hundred
games.
Simple, fast, and well balanced. For-
tress should appeal to anyone who
enjoys a game that makes you think.
continued on next page
April 1984
93
product reviews
MACHINE
LANGUAGE FOR
BEGINNERS
COMPUTE! Books
P.O. Box 5406
Greensboro, NC 27403
(919) 275-9809
(800) 334-0868 (except NC)
$14.95, book
Reviewed by Matthew Ratcliff
If you've considered taking the plunge
into machine-language programming,
consider Machine Language for
Beginners. Author Richard Mansfield
assumes that readers are familiar with
BASIC, but have no prior knowledge
of machine language. Throughout the
book, comparisons in BASIC reinforce
the machine-language examples. For
those accustomed to thinking in
BASIC, this approach makes it rather
easy to pick up machine-language con-
cepts. The book covers the most popu-
lar 6502 microprocessor-based home
computers, including the Atari.
The first few chapters introduce the
reader to machine-language funda-
mentals and also explain the monitor
from the Assembler Editor cartridge
for the Atari. "Appendix C" provides
a Simple Assembler BASIC program
listing to help you get started. This pro-
gram allows you to type in, assemble,
and run short machine-language
examples presented in the text, and is
much easier to use than the full-blown
Assembler Editor, which beginning
machine-language programmers often
find confusing. Once you become
familiar with machine language on the
Simple Assembler, moving up to the
Assembler Editor will be much easier.
One of the most difficult machine-
language concepts to learn is "address-
ing," the way in which your computer
accesses, transfers and operates on its
many bytes of RAM (random-access
memory). The text explains machine
language's addressing modes with the
help of an imaginary post office that
routes all packages (bytes) to their
proper locations (RAM addresses).
This approach is effective and avoids
the use of complicated diagrams and
flow charts.
Chapters Five and Six explain the
6502 s instructions, and present short
examples to run on the Simple Assem-
bler. "Borrowing From BASIC" shows
you how to use common BASIC com-
mands from machine language. Here,
unfortunately, the author does not
distinguish between BASIC ROM and
Operating System (OS) ROM. The
machine-language subroutine ad-
dresses in the Atari examples are in OS
ROM, not in BASIC-cartridge ROM.
They can be used with the Assembler
This book covers
the most popular
6502 micro-
processor-based
home computers,
Including the Atari.
Editor, or any other ROM-RAM config-
uration, since the OS ROM is never re-
moved from the computer. The author
overlooks this distinction, but he
should have pointed it out because the
Atari has removable BASIC ROM, while
other machines do not.
"Building a Program" presents com-
plete machine-language listings and
explains how they work. It includes a
string-search utility for the Atari. Close
study of the machine-language pro-
gram and the USR call format will
show you how machine language
hooks into BASIC through the USR
command.
The last chapter, "Machine-
Language Equivalents of BASIC Com-
mands," explains how to execute some
of the more common BASIC com-
mands from machine language with-
out the aid of BASIC ROM routines.
This will help you tackle your first
complete machine-language program.
The book also contains some very
helpful appendices. They provide a set
of instructions, a quick reference guide
and a partial memory map. The Simple
Assembler BASIC listing mentioned
earlier is followed by a disassembler
that allows you to convert the bytes in
your computer's ROM back into
machine-language commands so that
you can see how it works.
The book is definitely for beginners.
It doesn't cover arithmetic very well,
and it would have been nice to see an
advanced programmer's appendix
with appropriate routines. Once you
become familiar with 6502 machine
language, you will not progress much
further without the aid of a more ad-
vanced manual. I suggest 6502 ML
Progratnnting by Lance Leventhal.
Because Mansfield's book covers five
different computers, it becomes con-
fusing at times and does not delve
deeply enough into some subjects.
However, Machine Language for
Beginners presents the machine-
language novice with a very good
tutorial in simple, understandable
terms.
GO
Hayden Software Co.
600 Suffolk St.
Lowell, MA 01853
(617) 937-0200
$34.95, 16K — cassette
$34.95, 32K — disk
Reviewed by Fred Pinho
Go is one of the most ancient of board
games. In Asia, and particularly in
Japan, its popularity surpasses that of
chess. While a game of chess involves
a single tactical conflict, a game of Go
consists of many interrelated battles.
The game is played on a 19 by 19 grid,
using black and white "stones" as play-
ing pieces. There are many more pos-
94
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
product reviews
sible moves in Go than in chess. It's
also difficult to quantify the value of
each move. As a result, the "brute
force" approach used by programmers
to create chess-playing programs
doesn't work for this game. There are
no expert computer versions of Go.
Unfortunately, this program does
nothing to remedy the situation. Many
basic Go concepts, such as the form-
ing of two ' 'eyes,' ' or open areas, aren't
even in the program's repertoire. As a
result, I cannot recommend GO to any
Go player who is beyond the beginner
level.
As a general board-game program,
I'd rate GO as fair, due mainly to a lack
of documentation. What the Atari
owner gets is the Apple documenta-
tion along with addenda and errata
sheets for Atari play. The actual game
demonstration consists of five short
paragraphs. For a game as rich and
complex as Go, this is clearly in-
adequate.
Again, the game's graphics are only
fair, although its title screen is attrac-
tive. The game board itself is a simple
grid. A series of menus allows you to
choose various game options. The
computer moves quickly, so game play
is rapid.
In summary, this game is acceptable
only for true lovers of board games and
players who are new to Go. This is un-
fortunate, particularly since Atari's
name is taken directly from Go (it's a
term of polite warning).
GATEWAY
TO APSHAI
Epyx
1043 Kiel Court
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
(408) 745-0700
S39.95, 16K — cartridge
Reviewed by David Plotkin
Fantasy role-playing games have long
been popular with computer gamers.
In this type of game, you use the com-
puter keyboard to guide your onscreen
counterpart through various dun-
geons, caves, and so on, picking up
treasure and weapons, and fighting all
manner of monsters along the way.
Many have shied away from such
games in the past because they rely on
a complicated method of keyboard
entry of commands. But Gateway to
Apshai makes this fantasy realm ac-
cessible to a whole new audience. It
comes in a cartridge form, and doesn't
require keyboard input. Instead, you
use the joystick to move your player
and the fire button to take actions like
fighting, unlocking a door, or check-
ing your status. The console keys —
[START], [SELECT], and [OPTION] —
call up various status screens and allow
Unlike most other
games of this sort,
the action can
become fast and
furious.
you to select items from your supplies.
There are eight levels of play in Gate-
way, and you can choose from among
16 dungeons each time you enter a
new level. You automatically enter a
new level after 20 minutes of play, un-
less you choose to do so sooner Your
score increases as you pick up treasure.
You start with five lives, and lose one
each time your number of "health"
points drops to zero.
The game's graphics and sound are
very nicely done. Your warrior and his
enemies are well animated, and you
can actually hear your sword
"swoosh" through the air. The screen
scrolls smoothly as you move to keep
your player centered.
Gateway to Apshai is exciting to play,
with doors to unlock, and treasures,
magic spells, and weapons to pick up.
The weapons are most important,
since you start with only a dagger.
Eventually, you'll find swords, shields,
and even bows and arrows in the dun-
geons. Unlike most other games of this
sort, the action can become fast and
furious. You may be forced to battle as
many as three monsters at once in the
upper levels.
This combination of role-playing
and arcade action makes Gateway an
exceptional value. Whether you're a
dyed-in-the-wool arcade player look-
ing for something different, or a
master of role-playing games, I recom-
mend Gateway to Apshai highly.
MOVIEMAKER
Reston Software '
11480 Sunset Hills Rd.
Reston, VA 22090
(800) 336-0338
S60.00, 48K — disk
Reviewed by Peter Wickman
"Tha . . . Tha . . . Tha . . . That's All
Folks!" Porky Pig's familiar postscript
still stirs the imagination, conjuring up
images of wacky characters who are
caught up in an endless round of sight
gags. These rib-tickling routines last
only a few minutes, but they are the
result of weeks or months of careful
planning and execution. Often, tens of
thousands of illustrations are needed
to tell a story. Each is then photo-
graphed separately in sequence with
a movie camera and played back at
normal speed. The result is an ani-
mated movie.
For most of animation's history, this
work was done by hand. More re-
cently, gigantic, complex and very
expensive computer-animation sys-
tems were developed for scientific, and
later commercial art purposes. Now,
for the first time, an inexpensive, easy-
to-use system for developing true ani-
mation is available for Atari home
continued on next page
April 1984
95
product reviews
computers. Even a young child can use
Movie Maker to draw figures, set up
individual animation sequences and
combine the sequences into a short
cartoon. You can even add music and
title screens to your creations! If a util-
ity program can be described as being
absorbing, this one truly qualifies. You
and your children will spend hours
experimenting with the many effects
made possible by this outstanding
package.
This is not a Player/Missile develop-
ment system. Rather, Movie Maker pro-
vides you with the tools needed to
draw actors and backgrounds, create
Now, for the first
time, an
inexpensive, easy-
to-use system for
developing true
animation is
available for Atari
home computers.
titles, and edit and produce sound ef-
fects for animated movies.
Movie Maker is a menu-driven pro-
gram that consists of four utility sub-
menus: Compose, Record, Smooth,
and Play. In "Compose," you create the
shapes (actors) that you wish to ani-
mate. Several "paint" functions sim-
plify the process of duplicating and
modifying shapes in ways that suggest
motion. And a "help bar" across the
bottom of the screen provides you
with information on the status of
various functions.
Once you've filled the page with the
shapes needed for your animation,
you're ready to produce an animation
sequence. You're allowed a total of 16
frames per sequence and nine se-
quences per animation routine in
Compose. In the next section,
"Record," you can expand these
numbers considerably.
The Record section is where every-
thing comes together Here you con-
trol the action of up to six actors by
using any combination of prerecorded
sequences and moving actors across
the background with a joystick. Add
sound and titles, and you may have the
makings of an Oscar winner. However,
since this will probably be your first
attempt at animation, your movie may
fall short of your expectations. For-
tunately, Movie Maker provides you
with a selection of powerful editing
commands that let you stop action,
iAiFfY Mm YIAiS
f row
A^'^c y^
move forward and backward frame-by-
frame, delete material, change the
tempo of the action, zoom and change
color All of these commands can be
executed "on the fly" (while the action
is in progress). Once you're satisfied
with the results, the "Smooth" section
removes the "flicker" from the
finished product. You then use "Play"
to display your animated masterpiece.
The program's only real flaw in-
volves its use of sound. You can record
only with sounds that are already pres-
ent on the program disk — you can-
not create new sounds. Other, lesser
weaknesses include a few errors in the
program's otherwise excellent
documentation, and certain limita-
tions on the use of color Also, an ac-
tor can become lost in the background
if both actor and background contain
the same color.
Movie Maker is a very powerful pro-
gram, and full mastery of it requires the
concentrated effort of a dedicated ani-
mator However, like all good pro-
grams, it allows you to produce pleas-
ing results and to make progress at
your own speed.
ANTIC was so impressed with Movie
Maker that we asked the Interactive
Picture Systems people to design an
animated greeting card for us, which
they did to the delight of all who have
seen it. Since then, IPS has agreed with
Koala Technologies Corp. to make a
version of Movie Maker for use with
the Koalapad Touch Tablet. If you
own a Koalapad or an Atari Touch
Tablet, you may want to wait until
that version is marketed, so that you
can draw with the tablet rather than
with a joystick. —ANTIC ED
RETURN OF
HERACLES
Quality Software
21601 Marilla St.
Chatsworth, CA 91311
(818) 709-1721
S32.95, 48K — disk
Revieived by Richard Herring
The Return of Heracles is an adven-
ture set in ancient Greece. Accom-
panied by a 31-page manual of Greek
history, it is chock-full of stories about
men's attempts to please or circumvent
the gods. Oddly, Heracles (more popu-
larly known as Hercules) is not a char-
acter His absence is one of the few
mysteries about which the Oracle of
Delphi is silent.
Your character can be one of several
from Greek mythology, or you can use
several heroes at once. Choose the
ones you want with your joysticks.
Given time (four to eight hours), even
a novice player can complete the 12
96
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
product reviews
tasks that are assigned by Zeus. The
game challenges you to try to maxi-
mize your score by completing tasks
in the least number of moves and with-
out losing any of your heroes.
You must guide each of the heroes
through dozens of graphics screens.
When they are not busy slaying their
foes, your heroes will gather treasures
to pay for better weapons, armor, and
heroic training. A full screen of infor-
mation on the status of each hero is
available. Various other characters also
roam through the game. Often, they do
not affect the fortunes of your heroes
at all, but they sometimes turn the tide
of battle.
You will face many dangers from
other humans, animals, and the Olym-
Return of Heracles
contains enough
background on
Greek mythology
to be truly
informative.
pian gods themselves. If you are to
finish the game, you'll need a band of
heroes who have been carefully
selected for the individual strengths
they bring to the group. For instance,
the Great Ajax has enough brawn to
subdue most foes, but Asclepius the
physician is most handy to have
around after a fight.
Although it's not marketed as an
educational game. Return of Heracles
contains enough background on Greek
mythology to be truly informative.
Only a few characters — the rock man
and the bulging blob come to mind —
seem to be untrue to the game's roots:
the myths of the ancient Greeks. And
this program will definitely hook you!
My only advice is to avoid the Whirl-
pool of Charybdis (it not only swept
away all of my characters, it also
crashed the game!), and to watch for
the great graphics screen that is
displayed when you finish the game.
THE ARCADE
MACHINE
Broderbund Software
17 Paul Dr
San Rafael, CA 94903
(415) 479-1170
S59.95, 48K — disk
Reviewed by Richard Herring
The Arcade Machine is a menu-
driven program that allows you to
create each of the elements of an
arcade game and then combine them
into a coherent whole. The result will
be an auto-boot disk that you are free
to share with your friends. Just wait
until you see that title page with your
name in big, bold letters!
This program gives you an incred-
ible amount of control over the details
of your game. Its only major short-
coming is that it limits you to one
genre — the Space Invaders, shoot-
'em-up type. Your man or ship moves
around the bottom of the screen and
shoots up at an array of aliens or other
targets. You can move over the entire
screen, but you can only shoot up and
down, and you can't restrict your
ship's movements to predefined paths.
A second player can control a ship at
the top of the screen.
Up to five levels are possible in each
game, and you can plan entirely new
logic at each level. Only four colors are
available; they also can be changed at
each level. Depending on their size,
you can create up to 24 aliens, each
consisting of four shapes that are dis-
played sequentially to create anima-
tion. Two different shapes animate
your player and the various explo-
sions, and a sophisticated joystick rou-
tine enables you to draw game back-
grounds on a blank screen. You can
also enter text, draw points and
automatically create geometric shapes.
In addition, you can fill areas with
single colors or patterns, and create
vertically scrolling star backgrounds
by pressing a few keys.
The Arcade Machine offers a wide
variety of scoring and logic options.
You can put a time limit on a game, or
slow it down if it's too fast. Bombs can
have various shapes and speeds, can
bounce off certain objects, and can be
smart or random. Each alien shape can
have a different point value, and can
be made to mutate rather than disinte-
grate when hit.
This program makes all the creative
work easy. Its eleven menus take you
quickly to the specific detail you want
to modify. Once you work through the
menus, you make some decisions by
simply changing numbers in a colum-
nar display, so it's easy to keep track
of how a change relates to your game's
logic. Separate worksheets, on which
you can design shapes and paths, are
provided, along with an 87-page
manual. Best of all, when you finish
your new game, you can submit it to
Broderbund. In June, the authors of
the six best games submitted will win
prizes worth from $200 to $1500.
ULTRA-
DISASSEMBLER
Adventure International
RO. Box 3435
Longwood, FL 32750
(305) 862-6917
$49.95, 32K — disk
Reviewed by Fred Pinho
Ultra-Disassembler is the opposite
of an assembler. An assembler trans-
lates three-letter commands, or mne-
monics, into machine language. A dis-
assembler converts machine language
into assembly language, to aid in
continued on next pase
April 1984
97
product reviews
analyzing and modifying programs.
Ultra-Disassembler does this well.
This menu-driven utility accepts
machine code from three sources;
binary DOS (non-boot) files, disk sec-
tors and the computer's memory. Out-
put can be listed to the screen, a printer
or a disk file. Ultra-Disassembler pro-
vides standard Atari labels for all docu-
mented locations within the Operating
System.
Disassembled output is structured
so that reassembly will produce an
exact duplicate of the original object
code. The generated source code
adheres to Atari Macro Assembler syn-
tax. Other popular assemblers use dif-
ferent conventions for pseudo-opera-
tions such as .BYTE and .ORG, so a
The documenta-
tion is well-
thousht-out, and
instructions are
clearly presented.
customlzer program is included. How-
ever, the customizer lacks the cap-
ability to change the equate directive.
Prospective buyers should be aware
of a limitation that all disassemblers
share, including this one: They have
no way of distinguishing text and data
from true machine instructions. Thus,
output may contain some spurious in-
structions. It will still assemble prop-
erly, but it may be difficult for you to
follow the program's logic. Disassem-
blers cannot do all the work for you.
You must have a working knowledge
of 6502 assembly language and the
Atari Operating System to get full use
of this software.
The disk and documentation arc
packaged in a high-quality padded
three-ring binder. The documentation
is well-thought-out, and instructions
are clearly presented. Beginning with
an example, they take you step-by-step
through the utility. A discussion of the
disassembler's limitations, and means
of coping with them, is also included.
Numerous examples are provided, and
you are warned to make backup copies
of the unprotected master disk. This
is a thoughtful policy.
On the whole, Ultra-Disassembler
works satisfactorily with no apparent
bugs, but certain minor annoyances
detract somewhat from its overall per-
formance. For example, error mes-
sages are cryptic. After an error, you
have to press [RESET] and reenter DOS
to reload the program. And the com-
puter locked up when 1 accidentally
tried to load a source file.
Despite advertised claims, Ultra-
Disassembler isn't really suitable for
beginners. However, for intermediate
to advanced users, 1 recommend Ultra-
Disassembler as a useful and instruc-
tive tool.
WAVY NAVY
Sirius Software, Inc.
10364 Rockingham Dr
Sacramento, CA 95827
(916) 366-1195
$34.95, 48K — disk
Reviewed by David Faughn
When you first boot the game disk,
you may notice a number of
similarities between Wavy Navy and
Galaxian. However, Wavy Navy has its
distinguishing features. Its graphics are
more polished than Galaxian's, and the
fact that you constantly move up and
down on the waves as well as from
side-to-side adds to the game's
complexity.
Wavy Navy's scenario is a simple
one: You are on a P.T boat that is being
tossed about on the ocean. Your objec-
tive is to shoot down waves of
bombers that march across the sky (as
in Galaxian and Space Invaders). Other
exciting obstacles include missiles that
swoop down upon you, helicopters
that try to blast you out of the water,
and floating mines that hamper your
movements.
You earn points by shooting down
the attacking bombers; extra points are
awarded if you down an enemy plane
during an actual attack run. You also
get points for each P.T. boat left in your
armada at the end of a round. If you
survive a bombing wave, you advance
in rank in increments from "galley
slave" to President. But you may have
to settle for an intermediate level, such
as deckhand or gunner, unless you're
prepared to practice long enough to
hone your reflexes to a razor-sharp
edge.
You may have to
settle for an
intermediate level,
unless you're
prepared to hone
your reflexes to a
razor-sharp edge.
If you already own Galaxian, you
may want to spend your money else-
where (unless you have a particular
fondness for this game genre). But
otherwise, you should be aware that
Wavy Navy can provide you with
many hours of challenging fun.
98
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
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1530 Datasette.
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Data 20(80CHR.) ....
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. . 129.00
INDUS
). 229.00
TRAK
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ATARI ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT
ATARI 850" Interface Module
ATARI 1010'
ATARI 1020'
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Program Recorder CALL
40-Column Color Printer/Plotter FOR
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Direct Connect Modern
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PRINTERS
GEMINI 10X (80 Column) 279.00
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RADIX 10 (80 Column) 639. (X)
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Powertype Daisywheel 379.00
Epson RX-80 (80 Column) 339.00
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EPSON FX-80 (80 Column) 555.00
EPSON FX-100 (136 Column) 749.00
AXIOM AT-100 (80 Column) Includes Interface & Cable .... 229.00
SILVER-REED EXP 500 Daisywtieel (80 Column) 399.00
OKI DATA 92P 449.00
TRANSTAR 315 549.00
PRINTER INTERFACE CABLES
APE FACE 65.00
ATARI Universal Cable 59.00
MPP-1150 Parallel Printer Interface 79.00
Parallel Printer Cable 30.00
PRINTER RIBBONS
Gemini Printers (Black/Blue/Red/Purple) 3.00
Epson Printers 6.00
MONITORS
Gorilla ■ Hi Res 1 2" Non-Glare Screen 89.00
Gorilla" Hi Res 12" Non-Glare Amber Screen 99.00
Sakata SC 1 00 Color Screen 239.00
NEC 1260 109.95
Monitor Cable 1 0.00
MODEMS
MPP-IOOOC Modern 129.00
Signalman Mark II Modem 79.00
Hayes Stack Smartmodem (300 BAUD) 239.00
Hayes Stack Smartmodem (1 200 BAUD) 549.00
Novation J CAT 11 9.00
Novation 103 Smart CAT 189.00
Novation Auto CAT 1 99.00
DISKETTE/ CARTRIDGE/
CASSETTE FILES
Flip 'N' File S3. 95
Flip -N' File 15 6.95
Flip-N' File 50 26.95
Flip 'N' File/Tfie Original ... 1 9.95
Cassette 'N' Game File .... 1 4.95
Disk Bank 3.99
Disk Bank (Plastic) 1 .99
Blank 30 Min. Cassettes.... 1.29
Blank 10 Min. Cassettes 99
RAM (MEMORY) BOARDS
Intec 64K Board (400) 1 09.00
Intec 48k Board (400) 89.00
Intec 32k Board (400) 39.00
Microbits 64k (600XL)
Expansion 1 29.00
80 COLUMN BOARDS
BIT 3 249.00
To order call TOLL FREE
1-800-824-7506
COMPUTER CREATIONS, Inc.
P.O. Box 292467 - Dayton, Ohio 45429
For information call: (513) 294-2002 (Or to order in Ohio)
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• Lightning Fast Retrieval
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Much More Than A Mailing List!
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INT^NTORY
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Here is a poweilul professional inventory control program
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• OVER-STOCK REPORT
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<5
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Royal DISKEEPER $24.95
DISK
Use this incredible program to keep track of all of your
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• SUPER FAST SEARCH & SORTS
• PRINT FILE RECORD OF ALL OF YOUR PROGRAMS
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• AUTOMATIC PROGRAM ENTRY
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• 2-disk set!
• A lot of game
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A^, x^ $52.50
New from
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Here is the latest in the famous
series of Fantasy/Role-Playing
games. This one is the best yet!
Flight Simulator II
So what if you haven't gotten your pilot's
license yet . , You can take off with this
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your heart's content! The disl< even contains
a WW I flying ace dog fight game so that you
can brush up on your aerial combat!
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IRAK
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I 64K, Z80 computer
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1-DDDS 5V4" add-on drive 379.00
BOOKS & MAGAZINES
COMPUTE PUBLICATIONS:
1st Book of Atari
2nd Book ol Atari
1st Book of Atan Graphics
1st Book of Robots & Computers
1st Book of Atan Games ,
Atari Basic Source Book
Inside Atari DOS
Mapping the Atari
f^achine Language for Beginners
Machine Lar)guage Programming:
6502 Assembly Language Prgm 18 95
6502 Assembly Language Subroutines 17 95
The Atari Assembler 14 95
De Re Atari (All About Atari) 17,90
Ivlachine Language for Beginners . , 14,95
Basic Programming Applications:
Games Atari's Play
Kids and the Atari
Your Atari Computer
Magazines:
ANTIC-vol 2, no 11
Back issues-vol2, no 2,3,4,9,
ANALOG-no 16
Back issues-no 13,14,15
HiRes-no 3
Back issues-no 1 ?
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SOFTWARE
Joust (C) 44 90
Rotjotron (C) 43 50
Blue iyiax(D,T) 31 50
Odesta Chess (D) 59 50
Pole Position (C) 44 90
Donkey Kong (C) 44 90
Monkey Wrench II (C) 54 00
Ultima II (D) 52 50
Dig Dug (C) 44 90
a/Graph (D) 89 90
The Tax Advantage (D) 62 50
Letter Perfect (C) 89 90
Spell Perfect (D) 69 50
Home Accountant (D) 67 50
Q-Ber1 (C) 44 90
Valforth(D) 54 50
HARDWARE (plus freight)
Astra 1620 Dual Drive 529 00
Rana 1000 Drive 349 00
Super-5 Printer 329,00
Atari 1027 Printer 319,00
Gemini & Epson Pnnters CALL
Atari Graphics Tablet 79,10
Koala Pad Tablet 87 90
Power Pad Tablet 87 90
Axiom Printer Interface 99 00
COMPUTER
PALACE
VISA
OPEN Monday - Saturday. 9 h
2160 W nth Avenue Eugetne. Oregorn 97402
USE YOUR CREDIT CARD & CALL
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Shipping Note: UPS & Parcel Post S2 90 UPS Air S4 75
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Comins Soon in
^W ^^ The ATARI Resource
# Atari Scrolling # Call Me Modem #
^Escape from Epsilon#Disk Drive Survey^
# Confessions of a Sys Op^
^ ANTIC Pix Computer Furniture #
# Robot in Forth #
#An inside look at Atari PLATO
A
ATARI"
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$49.95
Vastly SUPERIOR to any translation programs
available! FOR ATARI
1200XL 600XL'800XL witti 64K.
THE
XL ''P\X"\
A
ATARI
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$49.95
Ttie Atari XL series connputers represent power,
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Witti "approximately" 30-40% of existing software being
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5. You never have to hold the OPTION button down on 600XL
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The XL "FIX"! .... another SUPERIOR product! 64K required!
DISTRIBUTOR/DEALER inquiries welcome.
Mostercard-Visd-Money
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Phone orders:
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Atari is a TM of Atari Inc. The
XL "FIX!" is a TM of Computer
Software Services (division of
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Send S49.95 plus S4 shipping
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residents please odd 7% (or
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COMPUTER SOFTWARE
SERVICES
P.O. Box 17660
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ARENA PSYCHOTICA continued from pase 87
TYPO TABLE
102
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
tangle angles
Tangle Angles is a collection of re-
sponses to letters from readers con-
cerning use of tape cassettes with
Atari computers. Responses are pre-
pared by Carl Evans. ANTIC's Con-
tributing Editor for the Tape Topics
department. Tangle Angles appears
intermittently as letters accumulate.
Send your cjuestions to Tangle Angles,
care of ANTIC. Individual responses
by return mail are not guaranteed,
but Carl often obliges if you send a
self-addressed stamped envelope.
Otherwise, look for your answer in
ANTIC.
HOW MANY?
When I read your article on head align-
ment (ANTIC, Aug. 1983), I ran into a
problem. My plug has 13, not 15 pins.
I tried what you said about counting
the holes, but nothing worked. What
am I doing wrong?
David Kaszuba
Copperas Cove, TX
Whoops . . . you are right. The plug
is a JJ-pin plug, but that should not
affect the alignment procedure. You
may be misinterpreting the instruc-
tions. Try counting the holes froni the
other direction. Remember that you
have to count one way on the com-
puter end and the opposite way on the
recorder end, so the holes ivill match
each other
LOOK FOR GOLD RINGS
I recently tackled your 410 recorder
reliabilit\' upgrade (ANTIC, Feb. 1984).
I had a iew old cassettes that wouldn't
load anymore. I put together a collec-
tion of one percent-tolerance, metal-
film resistors and b\- tracing the etch,
I was able to locate and replace the six
resistors that your article specified.
After completing the modification, all
my old cassettes would load except
one, which was probably due to poor
oxide. 1 would like to point out that
all the replaced resistors were tne per-
cent-tolerance (gold band) rather than
ten percent, as mentioned in your
by CARL EVANS
article. The production date on ni)'
recorder is March 1982. Atari may have
switched their 4l()'s to five percent
resistors since you got yours. Pass this
information on so your readers don't
try upgrading their recorders with five
percent resistors onl)' to find them
already there.
Matthew Ratcliff
St. Louis, MO
Thanks for the feedback. I am pleased
that some readers are able to find the
one percoU resistors and make the
niod without too much hassle.
MOVING UP
1 own a cassette-based Atari 400 with
48K of memor)'. I would like to
upgrade to a disk-based system. I need
a utility that will cop)- all my cassettes
to disk. Can you recommend such a
program? Also will 1 need Atari DOS
to accomplish this ov will Atari BASIC
be enough?
Roy Papendorf
Austin, TX
Transferring cassette programs to
disk is sometimes complex. If you will
be satisfied with putting a single tape
on one side of a disk, then I would
recommend the program CASDIS,
available from IJG, Inc. (714-946-
5805) for S24. 95. This program ivill
create a ivorking boot disk without
you having to modify the cassette pro-
gram. CASDIS works on many cas-
settes, but some companies have
special garbage on their tapes to pre-
vent you from ever doing an unload
to a disk. CASDIS is a stand alone pro-
gram and you don't need Atari DOS
or BASIC to use it.
PLASTIC TRICK
My 410 recorder was used so much
that the PLAY button would not stay
down. Carefully disassembling the re-
corder, 1 foimd that the button pushed
a thin piece of metal against a piece of
plastic that activated the recorder. The
metal had worn a groove into the plas-
tic activator so the mechanism could
not fully engage (1 suspect man}- users
will ha\'e this problem). I took the ink
rod out of a ball-point pen. cut a small
section off, and pressed the small piece
over the metal rod. When 1 re-
assembled my recorder it worked fine!
The ink rod acts like a cushion against
the plastic. I ha\'e had no further prob-
lems, except that I occasionally ha\'e
to eject the tape and reclose the door
after a rewind or fast forward.
James Markow
Richmond, VA
Your solution is rather ingenious. If
you disassemble your recorder again,
I suggest that you use some "liquid
plastic" to fill in the worn section of
the plastic activator You can get
liquid plastic at hobby shops and
hardware stores.
TWO PORTS
I decided to get the new 1010 Program
Recorder, hoping that Atari had cor-
rected the erratic behavior of the 410.
My cjuestion relates to the second I/O
port on the 1010, what could it be used
for? 1 tried hooking up my old 410, but
I would always get an error 143 when
using the 1010. However, I could load
from the 1010 when I unplugged the
410. If this is the case, then what good
is the second I/O port? One last ques-
tion, what use is the PAUSE button???
Hisham M. Sa'aid
Frankfort, KY
First, there is no possible use for a
PAUSE button on a computer pro-
gram recorder The second I/O port,
on the other hand, does have some
potential uses. I use it for connecting
my disk drives to my computer Every
connector introduces some amount of
noise into the system and the closer the
recorder is to the computer, the better
it will work. Also, there are some
printers that plug into the serial I/O
port and the 1010 allows such a
printer to be connected ivithout a
special expansion box or splitter
continued on next page
April 1984
103
tansle angles
BOOT TO BINARY
I use CBOOTMGR to transfer my
cassette programs to disk, but I am run-
ning out of disks because I can only
put one game on each disk. Can you
help me convert these boot files into
binary load files?
Boyd M. Naron
Elk Grove, CA
What you need is a utility program
that converts boot files to binary-load
files. Doing the conversions yourself
is not a simple task. It requires you
to understand file structures, as well
as how programs are stored in
memory. Many cassette files load into
the section of memory that is occupied
by DOS. Files like that have to be
loaded with a special menu program.
I will write about this later this year.
TRS TRANSFER
I own a TRS-8() Model I and use cas-
settes for program storage. A special
utility sets the cassette baud rate to 3K.
Is there anything comparable for the
Atari? I am associated with a school
that uses Atari's with 410 cassette
recorders. I get impatient waiting for
the Ataris since they operate at a slow
600 baud. Second, can I use a non-
Atari recorder with one of the Atari
800's? Also, is there any way I can do
my program development on my TRS-
80 and then transfer the completed
program to the Atari computer?
Charles V. Allen
Brighton, MI
Let's take your last question first. If
you are talking about BASIC pro-
grams, rather than machine lan-
guage, it is possible to "write" a pro-
gram on your TRS-80 and transfer it
over to an Atari using a direct RS-232
connection or via the telephone using
modems, hut you can not 'develop"
your program on the TRS-80. The
distinction is that you can write and
transfer any pure ASCII file frofn one
system to another; but, in the case of
programs, the BASIC interpreters are
different, so the transferred program
can't be ivritten to RUN on both
tnachines. I have ivritten programs
on a TRS-80 Model I and transferred
them over a direct RS-2 32 connection
to one of my Ataris ivbere I then
"translated" the BASIC code so it
would RUN. I have also perfortned the
same operation in the other direction.
The process requires a detailed knowl-
edge of both computer systems.
As far as increasing the Atari baud
rate goes. . . it is possible to use rates
as high as 820 baud with a normal
410 recorder and up to 1200 baud
with a good stereo tape-deck. The
baud rate increase can be controlled
by a program called V-COS, available
from IJG, Inc (714-946-5805). If you
want to use something other than a
normal 410 recorder, then you should
use one of the special FSK interfaces
like the one from Micro Systems &
Software, Inc (303-497-3440).
HIDDEN ACCESS
My computer teacher and I attempted
to repair a late model 410 recorder and
made a very useful discovery. We were
having trouble aligning the heads
because we were removing the plastic
case to get at the alignment screw in-
side the recorder. We decided that the
process would be easier if we drilled
a hole just above the screw. We re-
moved the metal label strip and found
a predrilled hole already there! From
that point it was a simple matter of
repeatedly adjusting the screw and
testing.
John Hanke
Cross Plains, TX
You 're right. I recommend that you
check the alignment about once a
year If you leave the recorder in one
place and don't bang it around, the
head alignment should be all right for
at least that long. Most recorders
really need just a good head clean ing.
If you want more detailed informa-
tion on aligning heads, see my article
called "Getting Your Heads Straight"
(ANTIC, August 1983).
SCRAMBLED TAPES
The Atari program. Eastern Front,
which I bought over a year ago does
not load anymore. Several tapes I
bought about that time will no longer
load. I get mostly error 143 (check-
sum) and occasionally some other
error code. On the other hand, I
bought ZAXXON about six months
ago and it loads fine. Also, any pro-
grams that I record myself will load
okay. I cleaned the heads and I typed
LPRINT before loading, but that did
not work either. It is driving me crazy!
James Pantoni
New Cumberland, PA
First, try to load those old tapes on
another 410 recorder If they icon 't
load there either, then you probably
scrambled the tapes sojnehow. If the
tapes are bad, then you are stuck with
replacing them. Onthe other hand, if
the tapes do load okay on another
recorder, then you probably need to
align the heads on your recorder.
SLOW FLOW
I eventually got a photocopy of your
HI-REL mod and used 2% resistors
(scarce here). That helped, but I still
had problems, I finally traced the prob-
lem to the computer itself. Two
resistors, Cl66 and C167 were defec-
tive. I replaced them and I am now able
to load programs, but only those
which were saved with a LIST"C:"
command. This is very slow. Can you
help? Also, is there any way to inter-
face my Atari 400 to a Sinclair Micro-
Floppy?
Rob Pattison
Nausori, Fiji
/ am glad that you are finally able to
use your system. My area of special
knowledge is the recorder, I can't help
you with the computer itself. I have
never heard of a Sinclair Micro-
Floppy. If any of you readers think
you can help, please contact me or
Rob through this magazine.
104
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
LITTLE BROTHER GROWS UP continued from page 68
Note — "*" see Figures 2 and 3
K
J
I
H
G
F
E
D
C
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
8000
TO
MOTHERBOARD
(see Figure 3)
000000
U U o o o
5
4
l_
_i
6
3
Zl
7
1=
U2
2
Z]
8
o
1
n
9
8
■-
ID
10
7
=1
11
IZ
6
Zl
12
IZ
5
Zl
13
IZ
U1
4
Zl
14
1=
3
15
IZ
2
Zl
16
^"^
1
c-
R12
^R13
(O C)C6
e
(?1E
R14
5
€>Q2
TO FEMALE
DIN PLUG
AUDIO OUT
COMP. LUM
"^
COMP.
VIDEO
. GND.
0
]0
COMP. CHROMA
©
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
21/4" (ACTUAL)
(APPROX.)
1 " (ACTUAL)
(APPROX.)
Figure 1
continued on next page
April 1984
105
Figure 2
Note: Connection points as indicated
by "*" are shown in Figure 3
(ALL RESISTORS ARE 5% - 'A WATT)
POKEY AUDIO
'(R160)
TAPE AUDIO
•(R170)
(^
ay
C4 R4
(.I^F) (40KQ)
C3 R2
(.I^F) (50KQ)
AUDIO CIRCUIT
AUDIO
OUT
8-1 6Q = 125MW
5VDC
♦(CI 88)
LUM 3
*(R179)
LUM0
»(R180)
LUM 1
•(R178)
LUM 2
»(R177)
VIDEO SYNC
•(R176)
5VDC
*(C188)
<!>
(^
U1
(CD4050)
R11
(2.2S)
R9
(36KQ)
{M/V^'
R7
(18KQ)
rO^fAV
RIO
I (9.1 KQ)
R8
(4.7KQ)
-n{>rf\AAr-'
(!>
•(CI 88)
L.
D1
(1N4148)
w
COMP CHROMA
*(Q107 c)
<i>
R14
(330Q)
Q2
(2N2222A)
®7f^
C5
(•VF).
Ttr
*(C188)
U^ Q1
K^(2N22!
(2N2222A)
R12
(75Q)
JWV-
R5
(220Q)
R6
(120Q)
®
*(C188)
R13
(1 KQ) •
m
C6
(lOOpF)
VIDEO CIRCUIT
( DIN PLUG~)
<^7ff
*(C188)
COMP
LUM.
COMP
VIDEO
<^
SIGNAL
GND.
COMP
CHROMA
*(C188)
106
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
Figure 3
MOTHER BOARD TfE-IN SCHEMATIC
o
o
□
April 1984
107
COMPUTER-APPLIANCE INTERFACE continued from page 61
Figure 2
CAI MAIN CIRCUIT
"^-
R2
Compute
5V-DC
'c^-Wv
Bit Line
Ground
Optoisolator I
\ 1 > H
'xy
Q3
Ryi
Power Supply
5V-DC
Regulated
4-^V
RYS
COMPONENT VALUES
R1 27K Ohms
R2 150 Ohms
Q1 2N3906 PNP Transistor 276-1 604*
Q2 2N3906 PNP Transistor 276-1604'
Q3 2N3906 PNP Transistor 276-1604*
RYI 5 VDC @ 10 MA. SPST 929-3785 Allied Elect.
Ry2 110 vac coil DPDT
GP Neon Glow Plus 110 vac
Optoisolator 276-142*
•Radio Shack part numbers
t^
110 vac
-O Common
To Phone
l—O
Power Outlets
110 vac, 20 annp.
What is a TYPO TABLE?]
If you're new to ANTIC, you may be curious about the "TYPO TABLE" that appear^
at the end of most of our BASIC listings. TYPO is a program that helps you find the
typing errors you make when entering programs from ANTIC. It produces a table of
values that can be used to pinpoint the program segment where a line was entered
incorrectly. The TYPO article and program listing appeared in the February 1984 issue
of ANTIC ("TYPO," page 42) in our new listing format, and with improved instruc-
tions. It originally appeared in our August 1982 issue.
108
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
MicroMate Software
GRIDIRON GLORY . , . Coach your favorite 1983 pro tearr to
victory. 1980-82 season statistics also Included. Play against
the computer or a human opponent. Requires BASIC. 48k, Disk
Drive . . $17.95*. Trade In your old 32k version for a $10.00
itlscount.
RAMBLIK GAMBLIN . . . Play Roulette, Black lack, 5 Card
Stud, Slot Machines and Horse Racing as you Ramble and
Gamble llirougli the Casino to the Horse Track In this Hl-Res
game for 1-4 players, or play any of the games separately.
ML routines speed up the action. Requites BASIC, 32k, disk
drive . . . $14.95*
ASTEROID ARTIST . . . Connect the letters or numbers to form
pictures In Graphics Mode 7+ then enhance and color your
creation. Pictures can be saved to disk and retrieved for later
viewing and coloring. Requires 32k, disk drive , , $14.95*
10 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO
MicroMate Software
Box 20245
Tallahassee, Florida 32316
•ADD $2.00 SHIPPING AND HANDLING
$ SAVE $
Bank St, Writer (D)
$44
Zaxxon (D, Cass)
$26
Deadline (D)
$33
Choplifter (D)
$23
Ultima II (D)
$48
Pooyan (D, CassI
$24
Zork(D) 1,11 & III Each
$26
Send Check or Money Order to: 1
LISA Enterprises
126 Graham Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 1 1206
Add $2.50 for Shipping
N. Y. Residents Add Sales Tax \
Call or Write for
List of Discounted Software
(914) 623-2131
Prices are subject to change
MEMORY EXPANSION BOARDS
for ATARI* COMPUTERS
New Low Prices
Tiny Tek, Inc f»/lemory Boards are rulty
assembled, tested, and guaranleed
48K/52K Memory Board $79.95
For ATARI- 400
52K Addressable rvlemory
Easy 10 Install
32K Memory Board $64.95
For ATARI- -400 or 800
16K Memory Board S39.95
For ATARI- 800
BUILD YOUR OWN MEMORY
48K/52K Board (No Components) S30.00
32K Board (No Components) $20.00
16K Board (No Components) S 9.00
48K/52K Complete Kit $70.00
32K Complete Kit $45.00
16K Complete Kit S30.00
Add S2 Shipping & Handling
Visa & rylasterCard Accepted
-ATARI IS a trademark of Atari Inc
Dealer Inquiries Welcome
Tiny Tek, Inc.
PO Box 12609 • Dallas TX 75225
214-373-8926
• Convenient
• Saves Time
Fits All Models
Improves Accuracy
' 29 Peel-and-Stick Symbols
to Label each Graphics Key
TO ORDER send $5.95 check or money order
(Texas residents add 5% sales lax) to:
DOVESTAR CREATIVE CONCEPTS
P. O. Box 2109, Dcpt. 1014, Nederland, Texas 77627
(409) 727-5978 (no colled calls, please) or:
MASTERCARD and VISA customers call Toil-Free
Monday-Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Central Time Zone —
1-800-531-7383 (In Texas 1-800-292-5098).
After dialing, get a second dial tone, WAIT for operator
and ask for "EXPRESS NUMBER 1037."
DEALER INQUIRIES RECOMMENDED!
Atari TM of Atari Inc.
GIVE YOUR COMPUTER ONE FOR '841
ATARI-
HOME SOFTWARE
LI5TIT
A hiing cabinet (or your computer
Trom Scratch !
Gets your recipes out of the closet!
A secret diary lor your sweet 16"
Disk or Tape-16K $24.95 ea • $1 50 shipping
TO ORDER CALL 800-252-5385
In NY 800 252 8300 Ask lor Op 854
For free information write
— -^ HomeSpun ^^
9 Peters Path, E, SKT,, NY. 11733
N Y Residents add applicable sales tax
Ask your dealer for HomeSpun products
$49.95
ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE TUTOR
"Convert Bsaic to Assembly Source Code
•Disaftsemble machine language to Source Code
• Includes tested Assembly Source Code for
I/O, Graphics, DLI, Scrolling, Internal Sort,
Floating Point, P/Misales. Plot & Draw, Vertical
Blank, Multiply, Divide, String Usage, Sector
Disk Copy, Custom Display Lists and more.
•A cookbook of Assembler Source Code on disk.
•Full instruction
and documentation
DISK SORT AND MERGE
•Handles fixed length fields within a record
• Handles N variable length fields
per record
•Sort ascending or descending on
multiple fields
•Merge files together
•Handles files larger than memory
• fOO% machine language, ^OO OR
MC, VISA, M.O.
very fast
MICROLASER SOFTWARE INC.
BOX F, MENDON, N.Y. 14506
(716) 624-9318
Machine Language
Made EASY
EASY is a combination ol over 60 macros
anij precisely written source code which
allows machine language to be coded with
BASIC like commands. EASY supports IF
THEN, DO LOOP, INTEGER MATH, I/O,
GRAPHICS, PM GRAPHICS, FINE SCROLL-
ING and more.
EASY comes on a disk containing libraries
supporting AMAC (ATARI-' ) and MAC/65^
(OSS- ) either of which are required to use
EASY. EASY's detailed manual clearly and
completely documents every macro command.
Isn't it worth $39.95 to save weeks or maybe
months on your next programming effort?
ORDER SUPERware Dealer
NOWl 2028 Kingshouse Rd. Inquiries
Silver Spring, MO 20904 Invited
(301) 236-4459
MC, VISA. AMX, Check, M.O. accepted.
Include S2 00 shipping. MD residents add 5% lax.
SOFTXA/AREI
LOWEST PRICES«BEST TITLES
FASTEST SERVICE
ULTIMA III (Origin Syslemsl J39.95
RALLY SPEEDWAY (Adventure Inl | $34.95
OINO EGGS (Micro Lab) $29.95
ZOMBIES (Bram) $29.95
MR. ROBOT & FACTORY (Datamosll $24.95
FLIGHT SIMULATOR II (Sublogicl $39.95
GYRUS (Parker Bros 1 $34.95
INFIDEL (Inlocomi $33.95
LODE RUNNER (Broderbund) $23.95
SCRAPER CAPER (Big 5) $33.95
JUPITER MISSION (4 iiiscs!||AvalonHiil| $39.95
CHATTERBEE (It talks) (Tronixi $34.95
KOAU PAD (araphic tablet) ( Koala) $69.95
VOLKSMODEM (Anchor Aulomalion) $54.95
13" COLOR I MONITOR (Amdek) $299.95
INDUS GT (disc drive w/sollwarei $349.95
Please add $2 50 shiooing ($4 50 oulsidc USA)
Calilornia residents add 6%
VISA AND MASTERCARD ACCEPTED
Send Stamped Self Addressed Envelope lor FREE CATALOG
COMPUTER GAMES +
Box 6144 • ORANGE CA 92667
(714) 639-8189
Catalog of Computers and Supplies
Our prices are WHOLESALE < 10%
Samples!!!
ATARI 850 INTERFACE — $220
Compucat — $163
ATARI 1027 PRINTER — $350
Compucat — $265
We support the complete ATARI and
COMMODORE product lines.
Ask for our tree price list.
You may order in the regular manner or
download our TeleCatalog and order
from your computer or terminal.
(408) 353-1836
Instant shipping (or as fasi as we can). Mastercard &
Visa Accepted (no extra charge). Shipping S handling
add 5%. Calilornia customers add 6.5% sales lax. Order
by phone (Mon - Fri. 10 am - 5 pm PST), Order by
modem (daily 6 pm -9am) (rem our online TeleCatalog.
COMPUCAT
24500 Glenwood Hwy.. Los Gatos. CA 95030
GAME WRITING 101
Course HeqLliremenls: a working knowtedqe of AIAHI BAblL.
an ATARI 400 or 800 computer and a oesire to learn the
secrets of ATARI sound and graphics capabilities.
Course Descrinlion: a twelve month tutorial program that
will provide the particioanl with step by step instruction on
the mechanics of constrncling a game in ATARI BASIC
You've seen the game listings month after month. Oc-
casionally an author will tell you how a particular aspect of
his game was written, but overall, you were LOST!!! G.W 101
is different Duiing each of the first six months of G W. 101
you will receive a fifteen to twenty page syllabus that will
contain the listing for a section of trie game that you will ulti-
mately construct. Included witli that listing will be an in
depth explanation of every line of that listing as well as the
necessary discussions of programming principals essen-
tial for understanding all that you wilTEie doing. At the end
of the first 6 lessons you will nave listed the main frame"
of the arcade-style name. "COIVIIvlANOG". The next six les
sons will deal with ' dressing up" our game. All lessons will
contain principals that are applicable to writing any game
and will be written in non-technical language. What's more.
a HELP number will be at your disposar
EXPERIENCE THE SATISFACTION AND POWER!
SEND $44.95 to: 'G.W. 101"
in„i..j., „».!.„» C/0 Martin Goldstein
Includes postage , „ ;^' m' ^n r» » '
(or year and 1127 W. Mam Street
binder Waterbury. Connecticut 06708
checl( or money order
'ATARIIsaliaoeiflark'olATARI. INC.
ATARI 600XL MEMORY
Upgrade your SOOXL's memory
to 32K or 48K of usable mem-
ory. Plugs Into expansion bus
connector. Automatically rec-
ognized by all programs.
Introductory offer!
32K Model. AM2 . . . S79
48K tulodel, AMI . . . S99
Include S2 PaH. Add 4% for Visa and
M/C orders. WA residents add 7.8%
sales tax. Phone orders accepted after
4PM PST and weekends.
RC SYSTEMS, Inc.
12 1 W. Winesap Rd.
Bothell, WA 98012
(206) 77 1-6883
SarT TALK
SOFTWARE
Presents
Spell Weaver
THE ULTIMATE SPELLING
PRACTICE SYSTErwl
HI-REZ GRAPHIC - ANIMATION - AND
SPOKEN LANGUAGE: EXTREMELY USER
FRIENDLY. COMES WITH 500 WORD
VOCABULARY, UNLIMITED WORD FILES
IVIAY BE ADDED!
$24.95 . i;?.^o =.,pn.
Irul. res. + S% sales l;ax.
system requires ATARI* 400/800 W/48K
BASIC CART, and DISK DRIVE
VOICEBOXIIorS. A. M*
Send Ctiecks or fwloney Orders to:
SOFT TALK SOFTWARE
1422 HUNTER ROAD
BLUFFTON, IN 46714
RENUMBER-IT
An Atari" BASIC line renumbering util-
ity. RENUMBER-IT offers the following
features
•IOOOq Machine Language
• Does Nol Use Page Six
•Co-Resident-Callable At Any Time
•Renumbers Internal References
•Lists Variable Line References
•User Friendly
All these features for only S9.95 plus
$2 00 shipping and handling Order
now from SAGEWARE SYSTEMS.
DISK Only MC VISA Check or M O
SAGEWARE SYSTEMS
P.O. Box 45 Owasso. OK 74055
918/493-3970
THE HOTTEST ATARI ™
DRIVE EVER...
Indus
WITH WORD PROCESSOR -
SPREADSHEET - DATABASE -
CARRYING CASE
$359. Ppd
SCM TP II Plus
BI-DIR LOGIC SEEKING
PAR. SERIAL DAISEYWHEEL
$525. Ppd
TXadd4%
STEWART ELECTRONICS
P. O. Box 155
Mullin, TX 76864
THE COMPUTER STOflE
116 Seventh St. N.U.
N. Canton, Ohio 44720
216-497-0299
/
AIARI'
PARTS * SERUICE
We use genuinf AT.ARI pads
Send 5A5E far price list & services
A
I^AiAHliicnVllit
ATARI'
SPECIAL OFFER
for Atari "Home Computer Owners
[^R4RKER
iieiti )f BROTHERS
138 Poiieye 34.95
139 Frontier 34.95
140 O'bert 34.95
THE ARCADE EXPERTS
141 Starlrek 24.45
142 Buck RoijGrs 2445
143 Congo Banpo 24.45
_^-,171 Kraft Joystick 9.95
Hdirl Orders
I National Toll Free 1-800-328-5727 Ext. 155A
Minncsiila Only 1-800 /"IJ-SeBS Ext. 155A
Send Check or Money Order to
Wizards Work
9438 36lh Ave. N.. New Hope. MN 55427
16121-545-2136
iVliiinesota Residence fldil C"» Sales Tax
Postaeie S2.50 plus .50 Each Additional Hem
Complete Product Listing Available
MERLIN'S SOFTWARE
EDUCATIONAL AND GAME SOFTWARE
BORED WITH SHOOT-EM-UP GAMES?
Enter a new generation of game-playing!
One for tfie entire family!
* 'ROULETTE**
It's not just a game— it's also a learning program.
Learn to play Las Vegas style ROULETTE even
if you never played before. Higll resolution board
Vi/itti spinning vwtieel and sound effects, 100%
mactiine language 48k disk.
$24.95 ea. + $1.75 shipping.
SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO:
Merlin's Software Company
7822 Sedan Avenue
Canoga Park, CA 91304
Table Information
Our custom font listings represent each
ATASCII character as it appears on the xitleo
screen. \'()u generate some characters b}' a
single ke\'stroke, for example, the regular
alphabet. Others retjuire a combination or
seciuence of keystrokes. In this table, r„S("
means press caul release the escape ke\'
beibre pressing another ke\'. CTRL ot SHITT
means press a>ul bold the control or shift
ke)' while simiiltaneoush pressing the fol-
lowing kc)'.
'I'he Atari logo ke>' ( A ) "toggles" inverse
\'icleo for all alphanumeric and punctuation
characters. Press the logo key once to turn
NORMAL VIDEO
FOR
THIS
m
m
ffi
IE
H
0
H
B
a
B
E
H
y
m
SI
H
ffl
m
s
c
e
H
m
a
B
m
m
H
H
II
11
I
S
II
E
D
E
F
TYPE
THIS
CTRL ,
CTRL A
CTRL B
CTRL C
CTRL
CTRL
CTRL
CTRL G
CTRL H
CTRL I
CTRL J
CTRL K
CTRL L
CTRL M
CTRL N
CTRL O
CTRL P
CTRL Q
CTRL R
CTRL S
CTRL T
CTRL U
CTRL V
CTRL W
CTRL X
CTRL Y
CTRL Z
ESC ESC
ESC CTRL -
ESC CTRL =
ESC CTRL +
ESC CTRL *
CTRL .
CTRL ;
SHIFT =
ESC
SHIFT
CLEAR
ESC DELETE
ESC TAB
DECIMAL
VALUE
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
11
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
96
123
124
125
126
127
it on; press again to turn it off. In the XL line
there is no logo key; inverse video is con-
trolled by a key on the function row. Decimal
\:ilues are gi\'en as reference, and correspond
to the C;HRS xalues often used in BASIC
listings.
INVERSE VIDEO
FOR
THIS
□
D
n
r
□
B
B
a
B
B
B
B
H
n
a
B
B
B
B
B
□
□
D
TYPE
THIS
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL C
A CTRL D
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL R
A CTRL S
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL
A CTRL W
A CTRL X
ACTRL Y
A CTRL Z
ESC
SHIFT
DELETE
ESC
SHIFT
INSERT
ESC
CTRL
TAB
ESC
SHIFT
TAB
ACTRL .
ACTRL ;
A SHI FT =
ESC CTRL 2
ESC
CTRL
DELETE
ESC
CTRL
INSERT
A
B
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
0
P
Q
T
U
V
DECIMAL
VALUE
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
156
157
158
159
224
251
252
253
254
255
ADVERTISERS
ADVANCED INTERFACE DEVICES . . 29
ALLEN MACROWARE 33
AMDEK BC
ASTRA SYSTEMS 44
AVALON HILL GAME CO 4
BITS & BYTES 20
COMPUCAT 110
COMPUCLUB 49
COMPUTER CREATIONS 99
COMPUTER GAMES + 109
COMPUTER OUTLET 81
COMPUTER PALACE 100,101
COMPUTER SOFTWARE SERVICE . . 102
COMPUTER STORE 110
DATABAR 71
DOVESTAR 109
EASTERN HOUSE 80
EPYX/AUTOMATED SIMULATIONS . 1 5
GAME WRITING 101 110
GEMINI SOFTWARE 64
HARTCOURTBRACE 29
HOMESPUN SOFTWARE 109
JOHN WILEY & SONS 84
LATERAL SOFTWARE 52
USA ENTERPRISES 109
MARSTEN SYSTEMS 40
MERLIN SOFTWARE 110
MICROBITS PERIPHERAL 2,3
MICROLASER SOFTWARE 109
MICROMATE SOFTWARE 109
MICROPROSE 23
M.M.G 66
NOVIN 19
OMNITREND SOFTWARE 11
OSS 21
ORIGIN SYSTEMS 13
PARTLYSOFT SOFTWARE 64
PC GALLERY 75
QUALITY SOFTWARE 17
RC SYSTEMS 110
RESTON PUBLISHING, INC 31
RISING SUN SOFTWARE 76
ROYALE SOFTWARE 80
SAGEWARE 110
SOFTTALK SOFTWARE 110
SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTORS OF
AMERICA 57
STEWART ELECTRONICS 110
S.S.I 115
SUPERWARE 109
SURESOFT 20
S.W.R, INC 65
SYNAPSE SOFTWARE 7
TINYTEK 109
TRAK 26,27
TRONIX 9
WIZARD'S WORK 110
This is provided as a c()n\x"niencc and :is ;i
coLirlcs) to adverti.scrs. ANTK." docs not guaran-
tee accuracy or comprehensiveness.
April 1984
111
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■Zip,
524 Second Street
S^"^^anc,sco,CA 94,07
new products
COMPUTER PREPARATION W^
FOR THE SAT
(educational program)
HarcoLirt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.
1250 Sixth Ave.
San Diego, CA 92101
(800) 543-1918
In California, call collect: (619) 699-6335
48K — diskette
S79.95
No computer experience is necessary to
use Computer Preparation for the
SAT, a complete learning system that
helps students raise their actual SAT
scores. The user's strengths and weak-
nesses in 15 areas of ability are diag-
nosed. The program also outlines
appropriate drills and review, lessens
test anxiety and improves test-taking
skills.
SONGWRITER i^^^^^^^l
(educational program)
Scarborough Systems, Inc.
25 N. Broadway
Tarrytown, NY 10591
(800) 882-8222
48K — diskette
«39.95
Would-be Mozarts and McCartneys will
have fun with Songwriter, a program
for beginning to advanced musicians
that makes it possible to compose
music or learn music theory. Songs and
musical ideas can be composed in
seconds, stored on disk, edited and
transposed. A free connector cable for
home stereo use is also included.
THE HEIST ■■■■■■^^B
(game)
Micro Lab
2699 Skokie Valley Rd.
Highland Park, IL 60035
(312) 433-7550
16K — diskette
S35.00
According to the F.B.I., art theft is on
the rise. If you, too, wish to engage in a
bit of tasteful thievery, your safest
option is to play The Heist. Join forces
with the world's greatest super-agent,
and this game of espionage will lead
you through 96 museum rooms that are
booby-trapped with perils. The object
of your quest is a top-secret microfilm,
which is hidden within an art object.
TRAVEL MATE
(chess computer)
SciSys Computer Inc.
359 E. Beach St.
Inglewood, CA 90302
(213) 673-9500
S29.95
Checkmate can be achieved on the run
when your travelling companion is
Travel Mate, a sensor-type, portable
chess computer. Its built-in Memory
Mode enables it to be turned on or off
at any time, for up to one year, while
fully retaining the current board posi-
tion. Four adjustable levels of play are
possible. A buzzer indicates if an illegal
move has been made.
CLEAN RUNNER H^H^^^
(drive cleaner)
Discwasher
1407 N. Providence Rd.
P.O. Box 6021
Columbia, MO 65205
(314) 449-0941
S24.95
If you would rather not use an alcohol-
laden cleaning stick to clean your disk
drive. Clean Runner may come as a
welcome answer to the problem of
drive-head maintenance. This inter-
active disk drive cleaner has been
designed to lead the computer user
through the cleaning process step by
step, and is said to safely and efficiently
clean disk drive heads while avoiding
problems associated with contamination.
New Product listings are compiled
and written by Caitlin Morgan, Edi-
torial Assistant. ANTIC welcomes
submissions of products and informa-
tion for this section of the magazine.
SOFTOY
(educational program)
Monarch Data Systems, Inc.
P.O. Box 207
Cochituate, MA 01778
(617) 877-3457
24 K — diskette
S29.95
SofToy's ringing bells, bouncing balls
and hooting owls gently introduce
children over two years of age to let-
ters, numbers, spatial relations and ele-
mentary programming concepts. Even
older members of the family may enjoy
the program's "match game," and the
program's colorful interactive display
invites young children to explore the
keyboard and make things happen.
OSCAR
(optical scanner)
Databar Corp.
10202 Crosstown Circle
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
(612) 944-5700
«79.95
We're all familiar with the optical scan-
ners used in supermarkets — now,
OSCAR brings bar-code reading into the
home. This revolutionary device allows
you to quickly, easily and flawlessly
enter bar-coded, printed programs into
your computer with no need for key-
board entry. The premier issue of
Databar, The Monthly Bar-Code Soft-
ware Magazine, is included in the price
of the scanner
continued on next pase
April 1984
113
new products
DATA DEFENDER
(security device)
PlCOtronics, Inc.
820 H. 4~th B-IO
Tucson, AZ <S5713
(800) 13 1-5007
S 198.00
Data Defender is :in electronic burglar
alarm designed to safeguard computers
and peripherals. Its control module and
pressure-sensitive mat combine forces
to sound an alarm if equipment is re-
moved from the mat. In addition, tip to
10 pieces of equipment can be pro-
tected by a mat-linking feature that
lowers the cost per unit.
OMNITREND'S UNIVERSE ^^B
(game)
Omnitrend Software
8 Huckleberry Lane
West Simsbury. CT 06092
(203) 658-6917
48K — diskette
S89.95
What's a starship captain to do withotit
his h)perspace booster? "^ou must help
him track it down in Omnitrend's
Universe, a tactical-strategic adventure
game that incorporates 3-D graphics
and many custom displays. The pro-
gram's easel-st\'le binder holds game
instructions, quick-reference cards and
four distribution diskettes. Also in-
cluded is a free membership to Omni-
trend's Universe Bulletin Board,
which furnishes information on up-
dates, new products and game strategies.
BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS ^^M
(educational program)
MHCA
285 Riverside Me.
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 222-1000
48K — diskette
S79.95
The basics of BASIC are explored in this
tutorial, which encourages the beginner
to design programs, trace their flow
and detect programming errors. Its
BASIC Design Tool feature allows you
to "walk"through programs at )our
own pace, line by line, so that you can
better understand their workings and
find your mistakes.
TRAV-L-CASE
(luggage)
Computer Case Co.
5650 Indian Mound Ct.
Columbus, OH 43213
(800) 848-7548
S2 17.00
If \'ou can't leave home without )-our
computer, tote it along in the Trav-L-
Case. Its plywood sides are co\'ered
with scuff-resistant \'inyl and reinforced
with metal edges and corners, and its
handle and interior are both well-
padded with foam. When ordering, be
sure to specify which Atari computer
you o\Mi.
Return Ihc fiwor. When you cull a
nuinnjcictiirer or supplier ah(nit a
produci you'i'e seen dilverliscd or
otherwise mentioned in ANTIC,
please tell them so. This will help us
to coidinue to bring Y(ni the latest
infornuition cihoul products that
will make your Atari computer an
etmi more valuable investment in
the future. —ANTIC ED
MULTIPLE CHOICE FILES
(educational program)
Compu-Tations, Inc.
P.O. Box 502
Troy, MI 48099
(313)689-5059
48K — diskette
S29.95
Teachers and students alike will benefit
from Multiple Choice Files, which
require no programming kn(n\ ledge.
Written for elementary school through
college levels, this ver)' friendly pro-
gram allows you to create, store,
retrieve, revise and review multiple
choice tests. Guided instructions are
easy to understand and follow.
MEGA FONT ■■^^■^^H
(graphics utility)
Xlent Software
P.O. Box 5228
Springfield, VA 22150
(703) 644-8881
48K — diskette
!519.95
Add S2.0() for shipping and handling
Written for use with Prowriter, NFX; or
Epson (with Graftrax) printers, this
utility is said to make your printer fully
compatible with your computer. All
control and inverse characters can be
listed to the printer in any of the nine
fonts provided, and original fonts can
be created with any font editor Also,
Graphics 8 screens can be dumped to
the printer in three different sizes.
OMNI ONLINE W^^^^^^M
DATABASE DIRECTORY
(reference book)
Macmillan Publishing C:o.
866 Third Ave.
New York, NY 10022
(212) 702-4212
hardcover — S19.95
paperback — S 10.95
This guide to online databases analyzes,
evaluates and provides access informa-
tion for more than 1000 databases that
cover fifty areas of interest. In addition,
helpful tips on how to choose modems,
software and database vendors are in-
cluded in this 304-page catalog, which
was edited b}- Mike Edelhart and Owen
Davies. Q
114
ANTIC, The Atari Resource
3
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BUIIT FOR YOUR AIARIS FUTURE...
AMDEKTOJGH!
Put the futuristic Amdek disk drive and 3" diskette to work
with your Atari® now. Get tomorrow's performance today.
It's small. ..quiet. ..convenient to use. ..and "user tough!'
Competitively priced for use in the home, business or
classroom.
With the Amdek AMDC I or AMDC II disk drive (single or dual
drive), you get superior performance. Hook up your printer or
plotter direct. Use in conjunction with any 5V4 " disk drive to boot
other Atari-compatible software.
Amdek diskette cartridges are virtually destruction-proof. They
will support both single and double density recording. You get
180,000 characters of storage capacity on each side. You get
expanded use... more games... more programs... more capabil-
ities. Many software packages are already available on these
" diskettes. And, more are planned.
As you've come to expect from Amdek, you get a complete
package— operating software, cable, instruction manuals, and
product support.
Call Your Local Computer Dealer Today... and make your
Atari the most powerful ever.
Atari'" is a registered trademarl< of Atari, Inc.
/
\
ON
I
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REGIONAL OFFICES: Southern Calif. (714) 662-3949 • Northern ~
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